Amongst The Stars (Part Three of Star Child)
by KarsKars
Summary: Krolia is back with Ranveig to complete her mission and Keith is left on the main base to be raised by the Blades. Luckily he has his new BFF Regris to help him cause mischief.
1. Secrets

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:  
**This is part 3 of a 6 part series. I can't link to the first and second parts but you should definitely read them before tackling this one or not much will make sense.

Part 1: From The Stars (4 Chapters)  
Part 2: To The Stars (3 Chapters)

\- KarsKars

* * *

**SECRETS**

Mr. Kolivan had contacted Mr. Ranveig for Mommy, he told him that Mommy was stuck on his base while her ship refueled and blah blah blah other stuff that Keith didn't understand or care about. Mr. Kolivan was scary but he was nice, he had let Mommy stay another day but she still had to leave. So now he stood in the hangar with Tok and waived good-bye to Mommy. She promised she would be back but that it might be years before they saw each other again, just like it might be years before he saw Daddy again. That made him sad, Keith missed his Daddy, he missed his Daddy a lot; and now he was going to miss his Mommy too.

She had called him a big boy, a brave boy, but he _wasn't_ brave because he was crying. He felt Tok's tail wrap around him, it was comforting - like a hug but a little stranger. The hangar door closed and he ran to the window, watching the purple light of his Mommy's pod as it disappeared between the two scary black things and the bright blue one. He felt more tears on his cheeks and Tok picked him up.

"Ok little man, time for you to get to class. You're starting your first Galran lessons today."

He sniffled, not really understanding. Keith already knew how to speak Galran, his Mommy had taught him, so why did he have to take lessons? That just seemed silly. He voiced this thought and Tok laughed at him. "You can speak it sure, but you still need to learn proper grammar and how to read and write. So off to lessons you go!" And with that Tok marched off.

Keith was slung over those big shoulders, his head falling against Tok's back, and he used his hands to push himself up and stare at the hangar doors. He gave a small wave and whispered '_Good-bye, Mommy' _in his Daddy's language before they turned the corner down the hall.

When they arrived in the classroom there was only one other boy there. He had seen TV shows back home with Daddy and knew the room should be full of other kids, so this just seemed weird. But Tok plopped him down in the only other chair, directly beside the boy. Taking stock of the other, he noticed that the boy had a tail. It was thicker than Tok's tail and had three spikes (or barbs?) on it. The boy was also taller than Keith, but he seemed older so maybe Keith would grow to be big and tall just like all the other Galra. Maybe he would get so tall that he would tower over his Daddy when he went back to Earth and saw him again. That would be funny and his Daddy would be really surprised. He giggled to himself and the other boy tilted his head, raising an eyebrow at him in question.

"Keith, this is Regris. Regris, Keith." Tok ran introductions and he stuck out his hand in greeting. The other boy, Regris, grabbed him just below the elbow and shook his whole arm.

"Hi Keeeeth." The name sounded strange coming from him, though he wore a broad smile.

"Keith." He corrected.

"That's what I said. Keeeeth."

"No, it's KEITH."

"Key-ith?"

"No. KEITH."

"Key-the?"

"NO! KEITH!"

"OH! Key-ith!"

"Ughhh, you said that one!" Keith groaned. He didn't think this boy would ever get it right so he just gave up. Throwing his arms in the air and letting himself fall forward against the desk in defeat.

Tok had been speaking with their teacher but now he was chuckling to himself. Keith was about to ask what was so funny when he heard Regris speak. "I thought you had to be Galra to be a Blade, why are YOU here?" It wasn't meant to hurt him, he knew that, but for some reason it still made him angry. He _was_ Galra. His Mommy was Galra and that made him Galra. He knew he didn't look like the other Galra, but that didn't change anything, Mommy had said so.

Before he could respond, their teacher beat him to it. "Keith is a Halfling, like you Regris. And that was very rude. You apologize to Keith right now."

A halfheartedly mumbled '_sorry_' drifted over and he found himself smiling. He placed his hand on Regris' shoulder, nearly falling out of his chair in the process, and smiled at the older boy. "It's ok." And instantly everything was better. Regris was smiling again and he even moved his tail around in an excited way, almost like the wag a puppy would make but not quite the same.

Class was boring. They had to learn how to properly pronounce words that he'd thought he already knew. Keith was exhausted by the end. Their lesson had only been 2 hours long, or as he was learning – 2 vargas, but it had been awful. The hardest part had been sitting still for the whole thing. Every time he moved, his teacher would scold him, and every time he drifted off into his imagination she would slam her hand down on his desk. Regris had jumped the first time it happened which had made Keith laugh, and that had only gotten him in more trouble, but otherwise it was scary; she was scary. Her name was Drezlia and she was scary!

She wasn't like Mr. Kolivan scary, more like actual scary. Mr. Kolivan _seemed_ scary but he was nice. Whereas Ms. Drezlia was just scary, she was mean and she was bossy and she was SCARY. Keith didn't like her and when Tok came back at the end of their lesson to bring him and Regris to their rooms, he may have cried a little. Luckily neither of them noticed.

After dropping off Regris they headed for Keith's room. He expected Tok to do the same thing he did for Regris: bring him to the door and wait till it closed behind him, then leave. But instead Tok came inside. He sat Keith down on the bed and asked if everything was ok, and if he enjoyed his first lesson. Keith couldn't hold it in any longer. What had started as a few wet streaks falling onto Tok's shoulder, now dissolved into a full onslaught of tears streaming down his face. His whole body gave a shudder and he took in a gasping breath as more tears flowed. Tok scooped him in closer with his tail, pulling him up against his massive body and wrapping his giant arms tightly around him.

"It's ok Kit. I know how hard it is to be separated from your parents like this, especially your mom. You are only 3 deca-phoebs after all, still just a kitling!" He sat there for a while waiting for Keith to calm down. Once the tears slowed into only a few sniffles, he spoke again. "If you don't want to go back to class you don't have to, you can wait 2 more deca-phoebs and go back when you're Regris' age." Keith thought about it. It wouldn't make much difference if he went now or later, either way he would still have Ms. Drezlia as a teacher. If he went later then he wouldn't have Regris to play with, so he decided now was as good a time as any.

"S'ok. I'm ok." He sniffled into Tok's chest.

"Are you sure Kit?"

Keith nodded against him. "I miss my Mommy and - and Ms. Drezlia is scary." He felt the responding laughter vibrate his whole body before Tok spoke again.

"She's not so bad. You'll get used to her, Kit. Drezy is just a little – intense. She expects big things and she doesn't like to be disappointed."

"Drezy?" He asked, confused as to whether or not Tok knew who his teacher was.

"OH right, um, don't call her that, ok? It's just a fun name I have for her because she's my friend."

"Ms. Drezlia is your friend? But she's so mean and – and scary, Tok!"

"I can be mean and scary too!" In an exaggerated attempt to prove his point, Tok puffed up his chest and scrunched up his face to glare menacingly down at Kieth. The effect of which made him look cartoonish, reducing the tiny kitling into a fit of laughter. "I am allowed to call Ms. Drezlia 'Drezy' just like I am ok with you calling me 'Tok', understand?"

"But Tok is your name." He was sure of it. He distinctly remembered being introduced to Tok and that was his name: Tok.

"My name is Antok, but you can keep calling me Tok, that's fine Kit. Just don't call Ms. Drezlia 'Drezy' ok – that will be our little secret." He liked secrets. They were fun. His Daddy had called him and Mommy 'his favourite secrets' and it had made Mommy smile. And once, about a month before they'd had to leave, his Daddy had given him a whole bar of chocolate and told him it was a secret and he couldn't tell Mommy or they would both be in trouble. It had been yummy; he ate the whole thing in one sitting. It was fun to sneak behind Mommy's back with Daddy. Keith had decided that he really liked secrets. And now he had a secret with Tok.

He put his finger to his lips, pursing them and making a 'shhhh' sound as he giggled away. "Secret" he said, still giggling, and Tok smiled back.

"Yes, a secret."

* * *

It had been 4 deca-phoebs since Keith had first come to live at the base. He was currently 7, but his 8th birthday was in 2 quintants and Tok had said there was a big surprise planned. Keith didn't think he was supposed to know about that because Tok had immediately started sputtering over his words, vowing him to secrecy. Yet another secret they shared between them. Over the past 4 deca-phoebs Keith had grown rather attached to Tok. He knew the older Galra's name was Antok, and called him as such around others, but when they were in private he was 'Tok' and to Keith, he would always be 'Tok'.

Regris was hiding in the rafters; Keith could see his tail dangling just below the shadows. They were playing a rather intense game of hide and seek. Kolivan had said it would be excellent stealth training, Keith just thought it sounded like fun. They had each been given three paint darts to shoot at the other when they found them. Regris' darts were purple, which showed up really well on Keith's pale skin, and Keith's darts were bright red; a stark contrast to Regris' dark aubergine-grey scales. There was a timer setting a limit of half a varga to each of their turns and the first one to be hit by all three darts lost.

If Keith could hit Regris with a dart then he would earn himself a point, but if the timer went before he could find him, then Regris gained the point. And if he found Regris but missed the shot, neither got the point.

They had been going since the start this quintants day cycle and were already on their 11th round. Keith had found Regris really easily on the first round, but the next three times (rounds 3, 5, and 7) had been way harder and the timer had gone off before he could find him. But by the end of the last round he had figured out the other's pattern of hiding but the timer went off before he could take his shot. Regris tended to like climbing up high, might be some instinct from his other parentage, but either way it helped Keith narrow down where he needed to look and on round 9 he had found his friend just in time. Now, he had almost 10 dobashes before that alarm would go off. So he positioned himself just right, knowing if he could make this shot that he would peg Regris right in the tail, which would be oh-so satisfying.

Currently Keith was winning, he had found and tagged Regris twice but only been found and tagged once himself. Neither of them had missed a shot yet, so the score was sitting at 7:4 in Keith's favour. He pretended he didn't see Regris, looking down low and opening doors until he got the perfect shooting spot. As quickly as he could, Keith spun around, took aim, and "_OUCH!"_ a direct hit! Keith jumped up, pumping his fists in the air making a victorious '_whooping'_ sound as Regris climbed down from the ceiling, plucking the dart from the base of his tail.

"Cheap shot!" He whined. Keith stuck out his tongue and kept right on grinning. "I'm gunna stick you right in the eyeball!"

"Then I better make sure you can't find me." He teased right back, tearing off down the hall as Kolivan's voice boomed over the speakers.

"_Timer reset. Keith, you have 10 dobashes to hide_."

"Try hiding in the airlock!" Regris hollered after him.

"RUDE!" he replied but didn't know if his friend could hear him anymore or not.

* * *

The next 2 quintants flew by faster than he had expected and before he knew it, it was already his birthday. Keith was turning 8 today, he knew about the party – Tok had let it slip almost a whole movement ago, but he was getting more and more excited as the day went on. Regris was a terrible liar and he hadn't said a thing, which made Keith slightly nervous, but he assumed it was still hush-hush information. A little thrill ran through him, his party was a top-secret surprise!

Class seemed to drag on; they had a new student join them, Marra. Her father had been killed on a mission and her mother wasn't handling it well, so Kolivan had transferred them from their outpost to the main base. Unlike Keith and Regris, Marra was pure Galra. She was small for a Galra; though she was the same age as Regris her size was on par with Keith.

He hadn't made up his mind about her just yet, she seemed a little bossy, but she also seemed nice. She traded her berry puree cup for his gymmin juice at lunch and if he was being honest, it felt like he had swindled her. Clearly Keith got the better trade. She made a few comments about Regris' tail and Keith's pale skin that Ms. Drezlia had immediately scolded her for, but other than that she hadn't really done anything too off putting.

Not that he cared; he was far too pre-occupied with how he was going to pretend to be surprised at his party. He could almost feel himself vibrating with excitement.

That night came eventually and Keith sat in his room waiting for someone to come get him. He had put on one of his favourite outfits and attempted to tame his wild hair; he wanted to make sure the birthday boy looked good after all. The dobashes ticked by, one after another as he sat on the edge of his bed waiting. FINALLY, after almost 2 vargas of waiting, Tok showed up.

"Hey kiddo. Wow, you look nice, got plans for tonight?"

"Maybe." He said with a grin, offering the other a knowing wink.

"Right, I forgot I'd let that slip. Ok well, since you already know, Kolivan would like to see you in his office, he has a surprise for you."

"In Kolivan's office? Isn't that a weird place to have a party?" Keith watched Antok's expression fall, his face visibly paling.

"Oh, Kit! Is that what you thought I meant by a surprise? You're turning 8 – that means you're not a kitling anymore. We only have parties for kitlings, or on milestone birthdays."

"Oh." Keith tried not to look dejected, though he could feel his heart plummet to the ground. Rising to his feet, he trampled over his heart as he left the room and followed behind Antok.

They walked in silence to Kolivan's office, he didn't know what to say and he couldn't trust himself to speak. He knew anyone looking would think he was in trouble with the way his shoulders were slumped over, marching to their Leader's office behind the Blade of Marmora's Second in Command. But Keith didn't care, he officially cared about nothing now, feelings were only good for getting hurt, and caring just left you open to disappointment. He would cut his emotions, like Kolivan; become a stoic, emotionless Blade just like him. That would be better for his heart, which he wouldn't bother picking up off the floor of his room.

Kolivan's office was dark, the lights were all turned off and for a brief moment there was a flicker of hope that perhaps Antok had been messing with him. But, alas, the room was empty save for Kolivan himself who was sitting at his desk. The only light in the room being that of his monitor illuminating the harsh lines of the Blade Leader's face.

"You wished to see me, Leader, sir." He tried to keep the sadness from his voice, he really did, but it was just so hard.

"Yes. Come, Kit." Kolivan rose from his desk and motioned for Keith to take his seat. It was strange sitting in this chair, looking at the monitor on this desk, in this office. Again there was a brief moment of excitement and he sat taller, pretending he was the big man on campus, the head honcho, the fearless Leader. But it was brief, the fleeting fancies of a kitling with their head in the clouds.

"Antok and I will leave you in peace, when you are ready - hit play." And with that the two older Blades left him alone, in the dark, by himself on his birthday when he had thought he was going to a party. _Stupid. He'd been so stupid!_ It was exactly the kind of naïve thought process a kitling would have, and now he was no kitling anymore and he needed to stop acting like one. He drew a deep breath took a moment to calm down before he hit play.

Immediately the screen flickered to a grainy video of rocks. _This is what was such a surprise?_ He thought bitterly to himself. Rocks? Really? But he watched anyway as the image cleared and came into focus. A shadow moved across the rock's surface and a man sat in front of the camera. A Human man - his dad. Keith felt the lurch of his heart and the hitch of his breath as he stared at the image on the screen.

"_Hey there, lil' buddy. Hope yer doin just fine out in space with yer mamma. I miss you somethin' fierce, hope ya'll know that. I've been visit'n with ol' Blue every so often." _There was an awkward pause while his dad scratched the back of his neck and tried to think of something to say. It made Keith smile. "_Dammit, I really shoulda prepared somthin' in advance but you know me, I like to fly by the seat of my pants. Anywho – incase yer lookin' fer an update, alls well 'round here. After you and yer mamma left, I was stayin' with my ol' friend Sammy boy for a while but it was too much with those kids of his and all. Made me miss you guys. So I stayed with my buddy Trav, until I got the shed all rearranged – more like a cabin now. You remember him don't cha? Ah, maybe not, you were just a small lil' thing. I remember like it was yesterday, took you to one of my ball games, on account of yer momma bein' dead tired. Some of the ladies held you the whole time, just gushin' bout how damn cute you were."_ He had a forlorn look in his eyes, something that hurt to see, as he lost himself in happy memories. "_Dammit I said I wasn't gunna cry. I miss you son, every day. And yer momma. She messaged me y'know, to send ya'll this video. Her idea. She said 8 is a big year for Galra, that yer not a lil' baby no more._" There was another pause and he looked down at his feet as he seemed to debate something internally. "_Alright, well I best be getting' a move on else this video's gunna be 20 hours long. Happy Birthday Keith, Daddy loves you!"_

He watched his dad stand and fiddle with the camera, there was a bit of static then the screen went black. Keith sat there, he just sat in the chair and stared at the spot his father's face had been. The heart he swore to leave on the floor of his room had somehow found its way into his throat and he choked back the sob that was building. After about 5 dobashes he realized there were actually two video clips. His stomach did some truly inspiring acrobatics as it dawned on him that he would get to see his mother too. Keith took another deep breath, just like at the start of the last one, and calmed himself before once again hitting play.

This time the video was perfectly in focus, the inside of an Empire ship displaying in absolute clarity. His mother sat there, poised and in complete control, with her Empire armour securely in place. She stared at the camera for a moment, collecting her thoughts before beginning.

"_Hello Keith. I know you were young when we left, but I hope you remember enough of your father's language to understand these videos. I wanted to use English with you so that, if the Empire intercepted this message, it wouldn't be decipherable to anyone. This message, __**both**__ of these messages, are for your ears only, our little secrets."_ She smiled warmly at the camera and he felt his breath hitch again. He really missed his mom, and he was worried about her. "_I want you to know that I love you. I think about you everyday and I can't wait to come back and see you. I'm so sorry that I can't be there for your 8th birthday. I hope you didn't cause too much trouble for Antok; he worked really hard on your cake. Told me all about it. 8 years old is a big age for Galra and it kills me to not be there with you. I'm afraid I have to keep my message short, strictly speaking I'm not even supposed to be doing this – but I couldn't __**not **__contact you for your birthday, not one of this importance!"_ She paused and looked over her shoulder at the door, furrowing her brow. "_Keith, my darling boy, I love you and mommy misses you! Please be good, I'll see you soon! Happy birthday my Kit."_

Keith felt the tears on his cheeks and whispered I love you back to the now blank screen, not at all caring if it made him look like a pathetic kitling. He took another 5 dobashes to finish crying and dry his tears. His face was all puffy and red, there was no way Regris would let him live this down. But hey, he had been right, he was getting a party after all, he just wished it had been _before_ the amazing surprise left him tear streaked.

Opening the door to Kolivan's office he found that Tok was gone, and only Kolivan remained in the hall. He wasn't mad at the hulking mass of a Galra anymore and realized that if he had been out here, Keith probably would have started crying all over again. The Leader of the Blade of Marmora, battle hardened and stoic as ever, pulled him into a tight hug against his thigh.

"When you are ready Kit, there is one more surprise."

"S'it my party?" He asked with his face buried against Kolivan's leg. Hearing the man chuckle was something entirely new.

"Who spilled the vat of geryk?" He asked and Keith chuckled right back. Geryk, a honey like substance, was an absolutely mess when spilled and impossible to clean up, but he knew it was just a phrase; something akin to 'spilled the beans' like his father would have said. He just hadn't taken Kolivan as someone to use idioms.

"Tok and my Mom." Keith shrugged, Kolivan snorted.

"Krolia is light-years away and she still manages to ruin a surprise phoebs in the planning. Typical." He looked down at Keith who was now laughing, all previous sadness giving way to joy. He'd seen his mom and dad, and his mom had even managed to cause Kolivan grief through a single short vide message. "Come on, we had better not leave your guests waiting."

The two made their way for the main cafeteria, and when the door opened Keith had barely made it inside before being tackled, toppling to the floor under Regris' weight. The room was full of Blades, even Marra and Ms. Drezlia were there, but his eyes darted straight for Tok who stood in the middle holding what might have passed for a cake if you squinted really hard. He chuckled and took the hand Regris offered him.

"Happy Birthday, Keith." Regris beamed. And even after 4 deca-phoebs it still sounded more like 'Key-ith' than 'Keith' and that made him laugh. "8 whole deca-phoebs old and you're still so _tiny_." Keith swatted at his best friend as the other bounded away cackling. Instead of chasing him, Keith turned to Antok.

"Tok, you said no party." He tried to keep his face as serious as possible but the smile kept threatening his lips.

"I said we only throw parties for kitlings and on milestones. 8 deca-phoebs is a milestone." He paused but Keith wasn't buying it, he knew what had been implied so he merely stared him down. "Ok, I lied. But it was for a good reason! I lied to throw you off since I had already ruined the surprise a movement ago."

Keith shrugged. "I forgive you. But I _wont_ forget this." He smiled brightly and skipped off to join his party, leaving a chuckling Antok behind.

The party didn't last long, he may not be a kitling anymore but he _was_ still a kit and needed his sleep. Antok carried him to bed, and it had felt like teleporting. One minute he'd been chasing Regris around for the last piece of cake, and the next he was in Antok's arms being carried down one of the quiet hallways to his room. He felt the bed suddenly appear beneath him and realized that he had been tucked in, blinking; he smiled as Antok turned out the small bedside light.

"Good night, Kit."

"Good - *_yawn_* - night, Tok."

"Did you have a good birthday?"

"The best." He smiled and drifted off. Keith was asleep before Antok could shut the door.


	2. Decoy Base

**DECOY BASE**

His footsteps hastened as he ran down the hall, it was dark, lit only by the dim emergency lights placed sparsely along the walls. He ran, every footfall echoing noisily down the corridor and it seemed hopeless, he knew he was trapped. His only chance, only hope, was that some how the door would be open. He could hear himself struggling for breath, shivering from the cold as he pushed against the protest of his exhausted muscles. _Run faster_ he thought to himself. _Don't stop, you can't stop._

He turned down hall after hall, flying down stairwells, and hiding in dark corners as sentries passed, he couldn't afford to be hit. Finally he made it to the lowest levels where a small hangar at the end of the hall had been designated as their extraction point. A chill ran up his spine, and though the base was cold, this was nothing natural. Turning on a dime he whirled out of the way as dark lightning exploded where he had been standing. Keith felt his stomach flip and an overwhelming sense of nausea settled in. Resisting the urge to vomit, he spun on his heel once again and shot his blaster at the Druid standing before him.

The foul creature vanished into thin air but reappeared almost instantly to his left. Cocking its head to the side, it hummed at him and lifted its arms to prepare another shot of lightning. Diving out of the way, he shot his blaster three times, once where the Druid was standing, once directly to its left where it would physically move to avoid the shot, and once where his gut told him to shoot. His third shot landed, the Druid having teleported itself to stand a top a series of crates. Taking advantage of the situation he shot his blaster twice more in the Druid's direction before tearing off down the hall.

The hangar door at the end of the hall was sealed and all hope of escape was vanquished, he was trapped. Standing there, with his back to the long hall, he waited and listened but the only sounds were that of his hard breathing and rapidly beating heart. He knew he needed to move but something told him to stay put, his gut was usually right and he had learned to trust it. Standing in front of the sealed doorway, partly paralyzed with fear and partly out of breath, he waited. He could almost feel the cold approach of death as the Druid appeared behind him. Listening to his gut he continued to stare forward, ignoring the strange clicking sound and strained breathing behind him.

Suddenly, a sharp piercing pain appeared on his left side. Keith didn't scream, he wanted to, but he bit back and swallowed the pain as the searing heat radiated up his side, down his leg, and across his back. Why he stayed put was a mystery but his gut was telling him to that turning around would be the worst decision he could make. The epicenter of the pain moved, sliding along towards his lower back as if someone were dragging a sharp blade lazily along his skin. He felt, with absolute sureness, the realization of what was happening click into place. Everything suddenly became crystal clear as he focused on the pain in his lower back, focused on the one inflicting said pain, and _demanded _the pain return to them. He pushed the thought with all of his will power, visualizing it in his mind. Seeing himself as if from above, he watched in his minds eye as the dark lightning turn red. The Druid shrieked, a truly sickening cry of pain, as it stumbled back. Panting, and dripping sweat, Keith finally turned around. The Druid rose, standing straight, and cocked its head to the side once again.

"You're coming with me." It hissed at him, reaching out to grab his wrists. Keith instinctively ducked, rolling on the metal floor as he avoided immediate capture. Jumping to his feet he tore off down the hall, back the way he had come originally, and skid to a halt as the Druid reappeared directly in front of him. Arms outstretched, the Druid tried to grab his shoulders but he was too small and agile, ducking out of reach once again. He skirted the hem of the Creature's cloak and made a dash back for the extraction point. This time he felt the tingle in his spine more clearly and pulled his blaster. Aiming it at the locked door of the small hangar, he dropped to his knees; sliding as he took aim, and fired on the empty space.

A projection of the Druid appeared only to be immediately destroyed by his blast. The ensuing loud, enraged hiss echoed in the hall and Keith tripped, his blaster sliding across the floor and out of reach. Panic flooded his brain, he didn't have a weapon, he was exhausted, and he was severely out matched. Rolling onto his back he kicked wildly into the air in the hopes of connecting with the Druid, on the chance it attempted to grab him again. What a sight he must have been, but Keith didn't care, his only thought was surviving.

"You will make a fine gift for High Priestess Haggar." He heard the sickly hiss of the Druid's voice and the words made his blood run cold. No, no he couldn't go to the Empire, especially not to Haggar. He was a Halfling; they would do terribly things to him. If he thought he was panicking before, he now knew was it meant to be truly desperate.

Stilling his flailing limbs, he rolled to the side several times. Pushing himself to his feet, amid great protest from his left side, Keith reached out for his blaster and ran for the door. The Druid laughed at him, it was a horrid mocking sound, but he knew this was his only chance. His gut told him to rush the door, don't slow down, and that's what he did. He ran for what he knew was a securely locked, solid metal door at full tilt. As he neared it, not slowing down in the least, he watched the side panel light up and the door whoosh open. He barreled past Antok and Kolivan, not bothering to stop until he was inside the pod and collapsed onto the floor between an incredibly startled Regris and Marra, passing out almost immediately.

* * *

Keith woke up to see that he was in the med bay of their main base. He recognized it; there was a panel on the ceiling that still had the scorch marks from when he and Regris had set off a flare. He snickered at the memory; Regris lying on the medical bed, bandages wrapped around his head and tail, while Keith stood beside him with a small cupcake. He had wanted to put a sparkler on it but couldn't find one so he'd decided to shoot a flare instead, it had been a terrible idea – totally wicked and super cool – but terrible. For a solid dobash he had to run around the room avoiding the sparks as the flare rolled around the floor. It had been Regris' freaking out when said sparks landed on his blanket that had garnered Kyra's attention. The Medic Blade came flying into the room cursing the boys out as she doused the flames and contained the still burning flare. Keith had been in a lot of trouble after that. A lot.

Taking his eyes away from the scorch mark, he looked around the room. He was alone, the other 7 beds were empty and no one was there. Sighing heavily he moved his hand to his left side and felt the resistance of bandaging. The image of the Druid's lightning flashed in his mind and he winced. It wasn't supposed to have been there. That Marmora base was supposed to be abandoned, it was a decoy base that their agents could reveal if being interrogated by the Druids or, Stars forbid, Haggar. Someone must be compromised; one of their agents had been pushed to the breaking point and given up the decoy base. The intel held in the base's systems was old and out of date, perfect for making the Blades seem like they weren't nearly as informed or connected as they truly were. Keith slumped back in his medical bed, wincing at the sharp pain in his side as he did so.

The decoy base was designed to resemble Empire ships on one side, and Empire bases on the other. Like the layout, its systems were also modeled after the Empire. This made for the perfect location to train all types of new recruits.

Those aiming to be tech experts, like Regris was, would train on how to access the base's systems as quickly as possible. Learning to execute commands that would shut down the functionality of the base without drawing attention to the small infiltration team.

Those aiming to be pilots, like Keith was, would train on take-off and landing procedures for Empire class hangars of all sizes. He had to learn everything twice, once with the Blade protocols, and once with the Empire protocols. So far he hadn't been allowed to fly a pod, only the simulators, since he was currently 11 deca-phoebs old and thus he'd been deemed far too young to be placed at the helm. It didn't matter though; Keith had already beaten all the records held in the simulator archives. He'd scored higher than both his mom _and_ his uncle had – which was saying something.

Their skills were legend in the Blades. No one could fly like Thace and Krolia, except Keith. He may not be as fast as the other recruits, or as strong, but dammit he could fly circles around them.

Other recruits learned other skills that were necessary for the roles they would be playing in the Blades. But all recruits were required to learn how to navigate an Empire base, ship, or station without backup or guides. Kolivan had drilled it into their heads '_You can't rely solely on your tech, or your team.'_ This meant they needed to be able to find their way around a base without any assistance what so ever and they had to do it within a set time limit.

This was their first outing to the decoy base, all of their previous training having taken place on the Blade of Marmora's main base. They had been running these drills for almost 4 phoebs and usually Keith was paired with Marra. It was fine, she was a good partner, but she relied too heavily on her mapping systems and followed too rigidly to their lessons. Keith saw the lessons more like guidelines, there to help them figure out what to do in a situation, but not meant to be followed to the letter. His tendency to 'wing-it' frustrated her more than anything – which he found kinda funny to be honest. Usually Keith would just trust in his instincts and let his gut guide him through the training and sometimes it worked out well, other times he took a beating. This particular training session had proved his point; you can't follow the lessons exactly when the situation calls for you to improvise.

When they learned this quintant's training was taking place at the decoy base, he had been elated, all three of them linking arms and jumping around like they were a pack of yalmors.

They had arrived to the decoy base as a group. Keith, Marra, and Regris plus Antok and Kolivan. Antok landed the pod in the main hangar (still insisting that 11 deca-phoebs was too young to fly the real thing) and the four of them exited the craft to begin their training mission. Antok waited for Kolivan who ran a quick debriefing before getting back in the pod and departing, flying to the small hangar in the lowest levels where their extraction point had been set. The three kits were now on their own.

They had 2 vargas to infiltrate the base's primary command center, shut down the (mock) ion cannon, and download the code to unlock the sealed door of the hangar acting as their extraction point. Sentries had been programmed to patrol the halls, and were armed with stun guns while Keith and Marra were armed with blasters and assigned to be backup. It was primarily Regris' training today, but they were all learning how to work as a team unit; something Keith wasn't particularly great at.

He shifted his position on the medical bed, inhaling sharply at the sudden pain again, as he reached for the call button. He was so thirsty, the medication they must have given him had really done a number to his throat – or maybe that was from screaming, he remembered doing a lot of screaming. Or maybe he just remembered _hearing_ a lot of screaming. At a certain point in his memories things got fuzzy.

He remembered clearly standing outside the main control room with Marra, blasters aimed down either hall as they stood watch. A noise had drawn their attention and, with a quiver in her voice, Marra nominated him to go check it out. He'd rolled his eyes at her but gone anyways. In retrospect they really should have joined Regris in the control room and sealed the door, then called Kolivan for an emergency extraction. But that's the thing with hindsight, it's always clear what you _should_ have done; in the moment making the right call is much harder. And they had made the wrong one.

They had both assumed it was just a sentry with a stun gun; there was no way for them to know a Druid had been hiding on the base for phoebs, potentially even deca-phoebs. So when Keith went to investigate, instead of a semi friendly robot, he was met with a decided _un_friendly Druid. One that immediately attempted to kill him.

This is where his head gets fuzzy. He remembers the Druid touching him with an icy cold yet burning hot grip. He remembers the feeling of darkness, and cold, and despair, and desperation sinking into his mind; the feelings bringing a wave of nausea that made him projectile vomit all over the Druid's mask and cloak. He remembered a loud roar that cleared the fog and grounded him enough to be able to scramble away as the Druid wiped his vomit off. And he remembered getting back to the control room door only to find Regris and Marra gone.

His wrist gauntlet had beeped, Kolivan came for them but he hadn't been there, now he was on his own. He needed to get the extraction point and get to safety before this Druid came after him. He'd ran down the halls of the base, terrified out of his mind, but following his instincts and trusting in his gut to get him out in one piece. The lights had gone out, only the emergency lighting was on, and his suit's power had been disrupted thus taking away his jet-pack, mask projector, and life-support systems – without which he was starting to feel the cold of the base, or was the cold caused by the Druid?

His head started to hurt and he rolled over in the bed, he could feel the sweat on his pillow and he pressed the call button in his hand again. He was still thirsty, but now he also just wanted someone to be there. Finally the door opened and Kyra walked in, followed by Kolivan. She smiled and handed him some more medication as well as a hydration pouch, setting an extra one on the table beside him, before leaving Keith alone with Kolivan.

"You performed admirably Kit." His voice was low and heavy, weighed down by the events from earlier that quintant. "I would like to speak to you about the Druid and – and some of the things that happened." Keith looked at his Leader, really looked at him and saw apprehension in the man's gaze.

Quirking up his eyebrow, Keith stared back, letting the room lapse into a long silence before finally speaking up. "What happened sir? How did a Druid end up on our training base?" Kolivan didn't answer him, not right away. He seemed to mull it over, thinking of how best to word his response.

"Did it feel familiar?" _Familiar? That's an odd question._ Keith thought and instantly the feelings of cold and nausea came back, only this time they were accompanied by the images of a way station instead of their training base.

"Yes." He said meekly, his voice sounding strange even to his own ears. "I – I think I've felt them before."

"At the way station? With your mother?" Keith nodded and Kolivan hummed. "That is what I suspected." He seemed to ponder something for a long while before deciding best not to voice whatever it was. "You've been unconscious for 3 quintants. -" Keith paled. "- Kyra tells me that your quintessence levels were severely drained and you need to take it easy. Rest." Kolivan paused again before continuing. "Krolia has been compromised and is on her way back. She will be here when you wake, Kit."

A sudden burst of warmth and joy spread across his chest, his mom was coming back. For the first time in 8 deca-phoebs he would get to see her again in person. The medicine took its effect and his eyes drooped but Keith didn't fight it, knowing that when he opens them again his mom would be there. This time, as he closed his eyes and drifted off, there was no Druid waiting for him in cold dark halls, only his mother's arms and her familiar scent.


	3. Sleep

**SLEEP**

Keith pretended to be asleep, he knew that was sneaky and probably a bad idea, but his overwhelming curiosity to know what was being said had won out. He lay on his right side; eyes gently shut and breathing purposefully slow and quiet. There were several voices in the medical room but he knew each of them. From what he could tell Kolivan was there, as was Antok, Kyra (and her trainee Sergin), Vrek, Ilun, and his mom: Krolia. Keith listened to the silence; they were watching something on a screen that didn't have any sound but managed to capture their attention. He wanted desperately to open his eyes and take a look at the screen but that would expose him and their conversations would stop. Instead he lay quietly and waited for them to resume talking.

Almost 5 dobashes went by before any one spoke. It was Vrek that broke the silence. "Back in the Empire I did some of my training with a kit who was taken by the Druids. He could do that too, sense where to shoot and when to move, shit like that. One quintant we were all running drills, next quintant he was gone. No one ever heard from him again." There were a few gasps and Keith felt his heart rate rise. He _knew_ letting the Druid get a hold of him would have been bad! Once again his gut had pulled through.

"What I don't understand is why he just stood there. Rewind a bit Antok, THERE – he just stands in front of the door and doesn't move. The Druid is right behind him and he doesn't move!"

"It's a damn good thing he doesn't move. If the kit turned around the Druid would have put him in a trance."

"But how do you know that? I would have at least tried to run!"

"Then you would have been dead, Ilun." Keith heard her huff in annoyance and Vrek took a deep breath before continuing. "He did the only thing that he could. If the kit bolted the Druid would have killed him, if the Kit turned around the Druid would have put him in a trance and taken over his mind. They need eye-contact to form the connection, so keeping his back to the foul creature is what saved his life."

This time it was Antok's voice that spoke. "What I don't understand is how the Druid's magic went from black to red, then made it scream. Why would -"

"Keith did that." He heard all of them shuffle slightly and assumed the group must have turned to stare at his mother. Vrek hummed in agreement and Krolia spoke again. "He's shown a sensitivity to quintessence at least twice that I'm aware of. When we made it to the way station, back when he was a kitling, he almost puked and flat out refused to go inside. Ryvik called us to say a Druid had shown up and we left. But Keith complained that it was cold in the station, even though we hadn't gone inside it yet."

"If he were in the Empire, he'd be taken by the Druids and brought to Haggar." Kyra and Ilun both gasped, Keith could even hear one of them muttering what sounded like a prayer under their breath.

"Vrek, how can you say that? The kit's mother is _right here!_"

"It's ok, I agree. He would be. I thank the stars that we made it here safely 8 deca-phoebs ago."

"Kolivan, I would like to test the kit. See if we can harness this ability of his. Think of the benefit it would be to have a Druid in the Blade of Marmora. One that isn't corrupted and twisted by the Witch's darkness."

"Vrek, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. We would need a Druid to train him and that's just not an option." Kolivan's word was final but Keith felt there was a way, something he could do on his own maybe. If he focused on it, maybe he could teach himself. But that was a silly notion. He was just a kit who had no idea what he was doing, how could he possibly teach himself magic! It just sounded so silly.

"Um, Leader – s-sir?" Sergin stuttered and Kolivan hummed his acknowledgment. "I – uh, I mean my brother he – well, he -"

"Get on with it."

"- uh, he uh -" Sergin cleared his throat and tried again. "Sir, my uh – my brother was taken by the Druid's when he was a kitling. I – I saw him again a few deca-phoebs before I left to join the Blades. He n-never finished his training, not fully at least, because he ran away. He learned enough that he can hide himself, but the Witch can always find him if she wants to."

"Why are you telling us this?"

"He could, he could help. He didn't follow me to the Blades because the Witch can track him, but he hates the Empire as much as I do. He wanted to join, but he was afraid his presence would compromise the entire organization. But if – if he could meet the kit at a neutral location, maybe he could do some training with him. Teach him something."

"Is it worth the risk?" Vrek asked.

"What? What risk?"

"Well, what if he only pretended to hate the Empire, what if he's a plant in the hopes that a quintessence sensitive Kit is born in the Blades and this very conversation comes up. Then you entrust him with one of our Kits, giving a Druid access to the child's mind. I'm just not sure this is a good idea."

"You were the one who just said we should get him training."

"No, I said we should test him. See if we can push him to learn it on his own. I don't want to risk exposing him to any of the Druids. Not even ones who used to be a friend, or a brother. It's just not worth it."

"Enough. I agree, the risk is too great. All non essential personnel are dismissed." Keith heard the doors open and everyone, almost everyone, file out of the med bay.

"Sir? The kit's quintessence levels are rising, he should be back to full health by the end of this movement."

"Good. Krolia and Antok are the only ones with clearance to enter this room. Understood? That includes Sergin – he will make a fine medic, but he is not permitted to continue working on Keith."

"Understood."

"All this talk of Druids is bound to bring trouble."

"Sir?"

"Yes, Kyra."

"How did the Druid know about the base? How did the Kit change the Druid's magic to red? Krolia mentioned having met Ryvik before. Does she know?"

"That he is dead? No, she does not, though I am sure she has already drawn that conclusion. Krolia is quite discerning. As for how the Druid found that base; Krolia told them about it." Kyra inhaled sharply. "Obviously she did not know her own kit would be there, and she has been wracked with guilt ever since. The base was built with the intention to be revealed if an agent is put under Druid interrogation. She did what she was trained to do."

"But how did it know she was one of us? Is there a mole in Commander Ranveig's fleet?"

"The Druid interrogated Ryvik, torturing him to point of insanity before finding Krolia in his mind. They left him alone for deca-phoebs at first, leaving him to run the station but monitoring his activity before determining he was a traitor to the Empire. We were organizing an extraction but the Druid took him before we could intervene. It then went to Commander Ranveig's fleet to interrogate Krolia. Again, watching from a far for over a deca-phoeb before making a move. When she provided the base's location, they released her to a cell and she was able to call for an extraction. Tebbit rushed to retrieve her, and Krolia brought some new recruits back with them."

"Zavin, Yessek, and Fayz." Kolivan hummed his agreement yet again. "Should we tell her? About Ryvik, I mean."

"No. It does not concern her."

"And what about the red lighting?"

"Yes, that worries me. I am not aware of how the kit was able to do that. I've never seen it before, even when Druids challenge each other, their magic stays black. I know quintessence has a gold colour, the altered quintessence the Empire uses for fuel is purple, and the Druid's magic is black – but I've never seen red before."

"Should I run some tests on the boy? See if I can find something in his biology? He's a Halfling after all, perhaps it has something to do with his other parentage."

The room lapsed into an uncomfortable silence and Keith realized he had been far too still for far too long. Shifting slightly and adjusting his position, he continued to feign sleep.

"Let him rest."

Keith heard the door open and close. He winced against the lights and sat up to find Kolivan at the foot of his bed, arms crossed, and staring directly at him. "Sleep well kit?" He lifted a single brow and though his tone was neutral, a heavy scolding was implied. Keith struggled to catch his breath and blinked owlishly at the Blade Leader. Lowering his head in shame, he mumbled a half apology. "Your mother would have done the same." There was a small, but fond, smile forming at the corner of his lips and he moved to sit on the bed beside him.

"Keith, do you understand what you heard?"

He thought about it, he knew what was said but did he really, _really_, understand the implications of it? "Not – not really, sir."

"Hmm." Kolivan stared at him a little while longer, taking a moment to study the emotions flying at rapid speed behind Keith's eyes. He never had been very good at hiding them. "From now on, in your sparring matches and training exercises, I want you to try and focus on your opponent – like you did with the Druid on the decoy base. I want you to try to anticipate where they will be and adjust your attacks accordingly. Your performance on the base was impressive to say the least, and it would be ideal if you could replicate it in a conscious way; without relying solely on instinct."

Keith nodded. "Yes, sir." And Kolivan placed his large hand on Keith's right shoulder, squeezing gently, then leaving him to rest.

* * *

Regris had him cornered, there was no way he could get past that tail of his without getting whacked in the chest again. They had been sparring for almost 3 vargas already but Tok wouldn't let them leave until there was a defined winner. The other recruits were sitting on the side becoming increasingly more impatient but neither Keith nor Regris were surrendering.

He closed his eyes, focusing his energy on the other and trying to _feel_ what Regris was going to do. The obvious move would be to use his superior strength and reach to just grab Keith, but Keith was too fast and agile. He may not be able to run as fast as the others, but his reaction time was substantially quicker and his movements were more erratic. He breathed deeply, waiting and _feeling_ for Regris, before finally making a move. His gut told him to duck so he did; a tail swished over his head. His gut told him to roll directly to the left so he did; the practice staff slammed down on the mat where he had been crouching. His gut told him to bolt forward so he did; Regris' frustrated growl echoed as he tackled nothing but air and an empty mat.

Keith opened his eyes and grabbed his own staff, digging the tip firmly into the floor and leaping through the air with a twist. Spinning around the staff with one foot extended, he connected with the side of Regris' head and sent his best friend crumbling to the mat below. Flipping in mid air to right his stance, Keith landed squarely on his feet and immediately spun the staff to crash down on the other's chest.

"Winner: Keith." Tok declared to a round of groans and "_finally_"s from the sidelines. It had been a whole deca-phoeb that he'd been working on his _sensitivity_ and he felt he was getting pretty good at it. It still took him a moment to get 'in the zone' but he was definitely improving.

Their trials were coming up. Regris, who was 2 deca-phoebs older than Keith, was doing his practice rounds already. Tok would take him aside once a movement to run through the special practice needed. Sometimes it was specialized sparring, other times it was meditation or studies. At the end of this phoebe Regris would undergo the Trials of Marmora; hopefully becoming a Blade.

The rules were a little different for them. Adults joining only got one try at the trials; they succeeded, failed and survived, or died. Those who failed but lived were kept in the Blades as non-active personnel. Preforming tasks that were vital to the function of their bases and the daily lives of the Blades, but not being cleared as full members and thus, not being permitted to contribute to missions in any way. Only those who passed the trials could be considered Blades. If Keith ever wanted to be a pilot he had to pass when his turn came.

But he was just a kit, one raised in the Blades and therefore undergoing his trails at 14 like all other Blade kits. This meant that if he failed, he would be allowed to try again in one deca-phoebs time. Though it was still a great dishonour to fail on your initial attempt. Keith watched his friend get up from the mat with a struggle, holding his jaw as if in pain. _Right, Keith had kicked him in the face!_

"Oh my stars! Reg, I'm so sorry!" Keith blurted out as he rushed to his friend's side.

"Never apologize for your successes." Tok chastised. "It could very easily have gone the other way." Keith gave him a curt nod of understanding and sat with his friend on the sidelines, watching as Marra and Fayz moved to take their place. The two girls slamming their right fists over their hearts in respect for the other before squaring off.

Fayz was a piece of work; she had defected from the Empire and was incredibly rude to Keith and Regris. Antok, who was also a Halfling, would scold her but she merely rolled her eyes at him, not taking his position of authority seriously. She was 5 deca-phoebs older than Regris and Marra, making her 19, and since that placed her as an adult; she would only get one chance to complete the trails. A very petty part of him hoped she failed, he wasn't proud of it, but he relished in how satisfying it would be if she failed her trails but a halfling 5 deca-phoebs her junior passed. He knew that was mean, and he did feel _kinda_ bad for thinking it, but he couldn't help it.

The girl's match didn't last nearly as long as theirs had. Fayz had Marra pinned with a mock blade to her throat with in 30 dobashes. Marra groaned as she took the older's hand, and moved to sit on the benches, being replaced by Zavin and Yessek.

Keith didn't mind them. The two pure Galra had come last deca-phoeb with Fayz and, like Fayz; they shared a deep respect and adoration for Krolia causing them to defect from the Empire as well. When they had learned that he was her son, it had blown their minds. Yessek and Fayz were the same age, give or take a few phoebes but Zavin was midway between the groups. He was 17 deca-phoebs now, but built like an absolute unit. Guy was massive.

Regris had asked if he was half Galra because of his size and he had laughed but Yessek was deeply offended on the other's behalf. Zavin was pretty cool Keith had decided. He was pure Galra and, like most of the Blades, he didn't hold any prejudices. New members tended to take some time to adjust to the more open and accepting atmosphere but eventually everyone learned to get along. After all, at the end of the quintant they were all Galra, and they were all on the same side, whether they were pure or half was irrelevant.

A varga. Yessek managed to last a varga before Zavin beat him. Tok was resetting the mats and calling Fayz and Keith to square off. The winner would go up against Zavin after they got back from lunch.

He hadn't sparred with her before; she was 7 deca-phoebs older than him, and nearly twice his size. Keith took a deep breath and tried to let his mind focus, he took mental stock of her foot placements and stance, as well as the position of the weapon in her hands. They were using staff's again since Keith wasn't old enough to train with a mock blade. Even though they weren't as sharp as the real thing, they still caused substantially more damage and injury than the staffs did. And at only 12, Tok had deemed him too young. It was a nuisance.

Tok gave the signal to start and Keith took a deep breath. He felt Fayz move, felt her lunge at him with her staff raised high in the air. In one fluid motion he slid between her legs and stuck out his staff to sweep her at the ankles. She fell, hard. Cursing him heavily she jumped to her feet and made a move directly for his head. Keith ducked again, rolling to he side as he had against Regris. _Honestly, did she not watch their fight at all?_ Throwing out his staff he used it to propel himself over her head, landing firmly on the mat behind her and extending his leg in a strong back kick. His foot landed flat on the base of her spine, sending her toppling down in what was clearly an incredibly painful position. Not stopping his assault, he used the staff to swing himself up once again, landing hard on her back directly between the shoulder blades. With his staff pressed to the back of her head he heard Antok declare him the victor and he removed his weapon. As he moved to from his perch, she spun and caught him by the throat, slamming him into the mat below and crushing his windpipe in her hand. The force of the impact, coupled with the lack of oxygen, caused Keith to pass out. The last thing he saw before darkness clouded his vision was her toothy grin.

* * *

"That was a cheap shot!" Regris screamed in the very far off distance. Keith blinked as the stars spattering the corner of his vision started to clear and the voice's came into focus.

"He shouldn't have let his guard down."

"IT'S A SPARRING MATCH! And he already beat you!"

"WHAT? No way did some half-breed kit beat me!"

"ENOUGH." That was Antok. Keith's head was pounding and he could taste something metallic in his mouth. Making a move to speak he realized, with no small amount of pain, that his voice was gone. Groaning he rolled his head on the mat. "Regris, check on Keith and escort him to the medbay. Fayz, follow me to Kolivan's office. - "

"WHAT? Why?"

"- The rest of you, practice your forms until I return."

"This is ridiculous!"

"No, what's ridiculous is you thinking your behavior is acceptable. Now follow me, or this ends much worse for you." Keith heard her growl but not protest, next thing he knew his whole body was being scooped up by Regris.

The trip to the medbay was horrible. He had been thrown over his shoulder as Regris bolted down the hall. Keith bounced the whole way, which did nothing to help his headache and throbbing throat. Kyra wasn't surprised to see him, he was practically a regular with all the trouble the he and Reg caused, what _did_ surprise her was the retelling of events.

"I'm afraid your trachea has been bruised. You're quite lucky it wasn't crushed entirely; that's a much longer and more painful recovery. Not that this won't hurt – because it will, sweetie." She smiled warmly and Keith wanted to laugh at the juxtaposition. Her terrifying words promising a painful recovery period, combined with her radiant smile and soft voice. A small chuckled did try escaping but the ensuing explosion of pain had him doubling over. "Try not to speak or make any sounds. You are on bed rest for the duration of this quintant and you are NOT permitted to speak. Sergin, pass me that tablet over there – no, the other one – yes, thank you." Kyra turned back to him, placing the tablet on his chest. "Use this to communicate. Absolutely no speaking, understand?"

Keith nodded and the movement sent another wave of pain causing him to screw his eyes shut. "Ok, take these pain killers and rest. I'll send for Krolia."

Relief flooded his veins. He had wanted his mother desperately but didn't want to seem like a kitling by asking for her, not that he could voice the request regardless. Sergin ushered Reg out of the room, and Kyra tucked him in after he downed the medicine. The lights were flicked off and he felt the effects of the painkiller start to settle in. They were fast acting and he relished in the relief from the pain.

* * *

He woke to the gentle caress of his mother's claws in his hair and the soft purr emanating from her chest. It had been just over a deca-phoeb since she had returned and these little moments never got old. He found himself melting into the contact, but his attempt to purr back resulted in a shock of pain.

"Keith? Are you ok sweetheart?" The concern in her voice warmed him and he nuzzled into her thigh. Stars how he had missed her! Nodding his head against her leg he felt himself relaxing again, the pain having subsided for the time being.

Krolia leaned forward from where she was sitting, swiping a quick lick to the side of his cheek, and resumed her petting. Keith smiled at the gesture, a common sign of affection between families, mates, or those close enough to be considered as such. Antok treated him this way in private, they were close enough to count as family. Regris treated him this way too, their friendship being more akin to a brotherly bond.

He reached for the tablet and typed a message to his mother. How much longer do I have to be here?

She chuckled and kissed his forehead. "Till next quintant. Try to rest Kit."

Will you stay?

"Of course. Scoot over." And he did. He slid as far over as he could manage, letting his mother crawl into the bed with him and pull him into her arms. His head rested comfortably on her chest and he felt it rise and fall with each breath. Her hands resumed their ministrations, her claws dragging lightly over his scalp. The purr had started back up as well, combining with her warmth and the comforting touch to lull him into a deep, healing sleep.


	4. Trials Of Marmora

**TRIALS OF MARMORA**

"What the quiznak?" Keith snickered as he listened to Yessek curse. Regris was hiding one hall over, ready and waiting for the signal. Keith stayed low, trying to remain as quiet as possible as he waited for the perfect moment to strike. "I _know_ he's here, I just – where the quiznak did he go?"

"Dunno, maybe he left for the training deck? Or went back to his room?"

"Don't be stupid Zav. He's banned from the training deck for the rest of this movement and he's too much of a nuisance to just go back to his room." More boxes were shoved to the side, a few chucks of unrefined luxite clambering to the floor. "If I get my claws on either of those brats they're gunna be sorry!"

"Hahaha good luck! Regris is stronger than you and Keith is way too fast to catch. I'd pay 100 GAC to see you try."

"You're not helping!" Yessek growled angrily. More boxes flew across the room, one landing dangerously close to where Keith was hiding.

"Oh, I'm not trying to."

"Stop snickering! You sound like that pain-in-the-ass kit." Keith bit back his grin at the comparison, taking great pride in his blossoming reputation. If he'd been paying better attention he would have heard the door open. If he'd heard the door open he would have heard the boots enter. And if he'd heard the boots enter he wouldn't have been caught off guard by the familiar voice that commanded the attention of the two Blades.

"Yessek. Zavin. What are you doing in the weapons vault? You do not have clearance to be in here unattended. Explain your actions immediately!"

"Stars! Krolia! I – I was just looking for – uh, someone. But I cant find him and – and I think he's hiding in here and -"

"Who would hide in the weapons vault? You know what – never mind. When you find Keith tell him I need to speak with him." He watched her turn heel and head for the exit before pausing. "Out, now! And do NOT let me catch you in here again or the consequences will be severe." Yessek withered under her scrutiny. Keith knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of her tongue-lashings, as her kit he got them all the time. "This must be brought to Kolivan's attention. If you are knowingly entering areas beyond your clearance -"

"I'm sorry! I didn't notice it was the vaults when we rushed in." he interrupted her. _Dumbass_. Keith thought, never ever interrupt Krolia, very bad decision.

"You didn't notice? How can you not notice where you are? There are four levels of security to access this section of the base. I can't imagine what details you must over look on missions." She stared them both down, harsh gaze unwavering. "OUT. Out now!" He watched the two Blades scurry out of the weapons vault, proverbial tails between their legs. Suddenly Keith felt terrible, this was supposed to be a harmless prank, Yessek wasn't meant to get in any real trouble. Swallowing his pride he let his guilt get the better of him and stepped from his hiding place.

"Yessek was just following me. I led them here." His voice sounded smaller than he'd intended, but his mother's glare had a way of doing that too him. The moment the words left his mouth, the young Blade whirled around, eyes blowing wide in shock.

"I KNEW IT! I _knew _you were in here!" Yessek threw his arms in the air as he yelled his accusations. Keith rolled his eyes.

"Holy shit! I didn't even notice where you were hiding. Damn Keith, well done."

"DON'T COMMEND HIM! Zav, what the quiznak!" Yessek screeched.

Zavin merely shrugged. "What? Praise where praise is due." Keith felt himself grin.

"Keith." His grin immediately faded at his mother's tone. "Where is Regris?" He cringed under her scrutiny. "Keith." She didn't raise her voice, she didn't spit her words, she merely spoke with the kind of authority that is earned through years of stern command. The authority of a mother scolding their troublesome kit. He was so busted. "Keith, tell me now."

"Waiting around the corner." He said sheepishly, hanging his head.

"And what is he waiting for?"

"For Zavin and Yessek." She stared at him in silence, waiting for him to continue. He huffed and gave in. "To scare them."

"I see. And what else." _How did she know?_

"And – uh, to pie them -"

"WHAT?" Yessek yelled, interrupting his betrayal of the plan.

"- with, um – with diffry berry pie." Zavin burst out laughing, choking out a strangled 'hilarious' before realizing that he too would have been pied.

"Keith. Diffry berry pie would stain their skin bright pink. I assume you were aware of this?"

"Yes, mom."

"Then you will lead the way back down the hallway."

"WHAT? No. Reg will hit me with the pies! The pink will be even more noticeable on me!" Both Zavin and Yessek were belly laughing behind him and he groaned.

"Lead, Keith. Yessek, Zavin – you are on laundry duty for the next two movements for entering a secure area without authorization."

They collectively groaned and Keith led the way, trying to make his footfalls as silent as possible, hoping he could skirt past Regris before the other noticed him.

* * *

It didn't work; he was now neon pink and sitting in the medbay – again. Turns out, Human skin reacts violently to diffry berry juice and now not only was his skin a bright, almost radiant pink, but he was covered in a painful blistering rash.

Keith hissed as Sergin spread the ointment on his luminescent skin, and again for good measure.

"Don't hiss at me kit. Maybe you and Regris should stop pulling pranks and you wouldn't find your self here so often."

"But then you'd get bored or lonely." Keith deadpanned and actually blushed when the medtech looked up at him. "And stop calling me kit. I'm doing my trials in 2 phoebes!"

"We'll see about that. You're doing nothing until this rash heals."

"It wont last that long … Will it?"

"I don't know. I've never seen anyone's airway close up just from contact with pie. Who knows how long it will take for your Human genes to heal."

"OH STARS! You don't think it will be permanent do you?"

"Doubtful."

"I'd look ridiculous if I had to spend the rest of my life bright pink!"

"It's actually not that far off your natural colour – a little more intense, but you already stand out." Keith stared at him, completely unable to process what had just been said. He'd never really paid attention to his pale skin and how different it was from the purple that surrounded him. It didn't really bother him when new recruits pointed it out, or when Blades visited from other bases and stared, because mostly it went unmentioned. He didn't feel any different, and he knew he was Galra; whether he looked it or not.

But the more he thought about it, the more it made him feel exposed, like he was wearing a giant blinking sign that screamed 'Halfling' for all the universe to see. They had left Earth, left his dad behind, because his mom was purple and the Humans would have thought she was a freak. Did that mean the Galra on base thought _he_ was a freak? The ticks passed by and Keith hadn't said anything. He realized that Sergin was staring at him with wide eyes, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly.

"I – _stars!_ – Keith I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it like that, honest! There are tons of Halflings in the Blades, none of which look very Galra. You definitely are weird!"

"Why though? Why is it that half Galra don't _look_ Galra_?_"

"Um, I'm a medtech, not a biologist so I'm certain. But I think it has something to do with the way Galra genes manifest. Like, most Halflings have Galran instincts and share the same single-minded-drive and bloodlust of a pure Galra and most have the yellow sclera. But features, body build, and skin tone tend to come from their other parentage. It's why Regris and Antok are more of a greyish colour with scales and a tail, while Tobik is yellow with long green hair, and why Mizor is even pinker than you currently are, with colourful stripes. He also has that long tendril on his head." Sergin playfully nudged Keith, which made him wince at the pain from his rash. "Oops, sorry."

"S'ok. I have the yellow sclera, and claws, plus I think my canine teeth are maybe a little sharper and longer than a Humans; at least from what I remember of my dad. But that's it. Those are the only physical Galra traits I have."

"You're not a freak. If anything, your other parentage could hide some super cool skills that pure Galra don't have."

"Like what?"

"Well, Mizor can make himself invisible for short periods of time; that's pretty cool. And Antok and Regris have tails, which come in handy I'm sure. Oh – and I think Borz can stay underwater for vargas at a time!"

"Ya but I cant do any of that stuff."

"Well, we don't really know anything about Humans. Maybe you just need to figure that out? Besides, how many people can boast a quintessence sensitivity? That's something exclusive to the Galra."

"Ya. I guess."

"I didn't think any of this bothered you?"

"It didn't – er, doesn't. I don't know why I got so upset." That was a lie, he knew exactly why it upset him. If anyone else had said it, Keith would have just brushed them off. But it was Sergin.

Sergin, who Keith had had a massive crush on since he was 10 when the older had joined the Blades. He had passed his trials, but elected to become a medic instead of a field agent and Keith spent most of his kit-hood in the medbay with his various (self inflicted) injuries. He had a pension for causing trouble and it usually ended up with him, or Regris, or both of them, in the medbay.

"Sergin? Did Reg get in trouble?"

"Oh ya. He has to help the other two with laundry duty. You were supposed to help too, but Kolivan decided your allergic reaction was punishment enough. Though, your mother wanted you to complete your punishment once you were healed." Keith winced, she _would_ want that. "Krolia's as stern as she is stubborn. I don't envy you!"

Keith chuckled. Krolia maybe stern and harsh, but she was fair. He knew he deserved every punishment she gave him. But she was also sweet and gentle, and he knew his mother loved him dearly. "She has my best interest at heart."

* * *

His rash cleared up within a couple quintants, and was completely gone after a full movement. The pink however, took much longer to wear off. Now that he was fully healed, Tok was running him through drills. They had private lessons once a movement in preparation for his trials, which were only a few quintants away. Keith was nervous and excited and terrified all at the same time. Blades were not permitted to discuss what takes place during the trials, so he had no idea what he was in for. What he did know was that the Trials of Marmora tested more than just his physical performance; there was a mental aspect as well. But he was ready. He had studied everything he needed to know and even some things that were just for good measure. Tok, Regris, Zavin, Sergin, and his mom had dragged him from the training deck floor or the archive rooms on multiple occasions for food and rest. But he always found his way back. Keith was determined to pass. He would make his mother proud, he would _earn _his place amongst the Blades, and he would honour his ancestors like his mother and uncle had before him.

Currently he didn't feel like he was making them proud. His body was sprawled out on the mats, a hydration pouch lying just out of reach as he panted heavily from exertion. His sweat was pooling around his head and had soaked through the back of his training gear. He could smell the tinge of salt in the air and tried to get up but groaned audibly at his protesting muscles. Maybe taking a break every once in a while was a good idea.

* * *

He passed. He had passed his trials and nearly collapsed from them. On second thought, he must have _actually_ collapsed because he was now waking up in the medbay … again.

"We really should just move all your belongings down here. Might be more convenient." Sergin joked as he removed the IV from Keith's hand.

"Am I dead? Is this my hell?" The older Blade choked on his sudden laugh.

"Smart ass. But actually, you almost were. Dead that is."

"What do you mean? Ughhh my head is pounding!"

"Keith, lay still. Tell us what you remember?" _Mom_? He looked up and squinted through the thrumming pain in head. Krolia and Kolivan were sitting on the bed beside him, staring at him from across the isle.

"What I remember? I – I don't remember much after making it through the first section." He muttered '_stupid riddle'_ under his breath and heard Kolivan snort. "I remember dad being there, we – we were at the house, back in the desert. There was an attack, our house was being attacked I think, or maybe the desert was being attacked – I don't know, it's all kinda fuzzy."

"Did your father say anything? You were speaking a strange language." Keith looked at Kolivan curiously before turning to his mom and cocked his head to the side.

"It was English." She said bluntly. "What did he say?"

"He, he said something about wanting to catch up, things he needed to tell me. The attack got closer and he said – he said everything was fine. But it wasn't, the house was on fire mom, I – we had to go. There were screams, people screaming in the fire outside and – and he asked if I wanted to know where I came from." Keith sniffled; his head ached trying to pull the illusion back to the surface. "Dad was holding a jacket in his hands. It had a strange insignia on it, he said it belonged to the people he worked for and that they'd be there soon. The fire was everywhere, we had to get out but he wouldn't move. I – I had to drag him out of the house and lay him down in the sand. Then we were under attack. They were Humans, they attacked us screaming about the Galra, about Zarkon, but then – then they _were_ Galra, they became Empire soldiers, and they kept attacking. I tried to protect both of us, I really did, I tried as hard as I could but they – there were too many of them and they just kept coming. That's when I heard a loud roar and woke up."

The room was silent for a long time. Several dobashes went by and Keith's breathing slowly started to level out, the painkillers dulling the throb in his head.

"Keith? Your suit's lights were dimming, they had almost gone out completely, but this red energy shot out of you and your eyes opened. What ever that was, it was strong enough to replenished your quintessence levels and forcibly pull you from the illusion."

His eyes went wide as his mother's words sank in. He really had almost died, but something, some outside force had saved him. He felt something brush against his mind, it was brief and fleeting, but he felt it: a soft purr. Something out there was watching over him like a guardian angel.

"Get some rest Kit, you start your flight training in the morning." Kolivan smiled at him before standing to leave.

His mother gave a quick lick to his cheek, smiling sweetly. "I'm proud of you, Keith." She whispered in his ear before following their Leader out of the medical room.

"They let me watch you know." Keith quirked a brow at his favourite medtech. "Your trials, Kolivan said having a medic nearby for anything that involves you would be a good idea." They both chuckled. Keith blushed heavily and reached for the hydration pouch on the table beside him. "You did well. I've never seen anyone last that long in the first section of the trials with out loosing steam. You have some pretty crazy endurance levels kit."

"Thanks. And Sergin, don't call me 'kit' anymore. I passed my trials, I'm Blade now."

"So you are."

* * *

After he was dismissed from the medbay, Keith made his way to the weapons vault. Having passed his trials he was now a full member of the Blade of Mamora and would be allowed to forge his own luxite blade. This was the day he had been most looking forward to his whole life. The trials were nerve wracking but this; this was exciting!

He placed his hand on the scanner and was granted access, the first time that it didn't involve Regris overriding the security settings. The door opened and he walked into the dark room where the forge was lit in the back left corner – waiting for him, for his blade. Keith was giddy, he could feel himself bouncing on the balls of his feet and had to summon every ounce of self-control he had to contain his ever-increasing energy level. The Blade's blacksmith was a burly old man, he was half Galra like Keith, but his other parentage was a total mystery. It was what allowed him to imbue the blades with special properties, almost like the alchemy that the ancient Alteans used but not quite as advanced. Still; SO COOL!

"Welcome, young Blade." _Blade!_ He had just been addressed as a Blade! Keith tried to reign in his excitement but it bubbled out of him, making his voice slighter higher, and definitely much faster, than he had anticipated.

"Hello Sir. I am here to forge my blade." He was beaming.

"Yes, a moment of great anticipation I see." Keith blushed, his kit-like excitement giving way to embarrassment. "No need to be ashamed, it is quite an experience. Choose your piece of luxite from the pile on the table over there. Then, choose your handle from the pile on the table to the left."

Giving a curt nod of understanding, Keith literally bounced over to the luxite piles. He swore Reg would never find out about this, when he retold the story later he would make sure to come off as cool and nonchalant.

He watched as the blacksmith melted and molded the luxite, letting Keith hammer it into the shape of his blade. The metal almost seemed to form itself, he hammered away and it took shape right before his eyes. After the blade was fully formed the blacksmith turned to him with a heavy gaze and pulled the glowing hot blade from the forge.

"Give me your hand." Keith blinked; he wasn't serious was he? That blade was a bajillion degrees, what could he possibly want Keith's hand for. "Young Blade, your hand." He thought about all the other Blades, non of them had any severe burn marks on their hands, so he trusted the blacksmith and held out his own.

The metal made a horrifying hissing sound as it connected with his palm. He didn't flinch; he was too well trained for that. They'd had session after session where they learned to handle pain and Keith was exceptional at it, his pain tolerance was really high. Luckily, this didn't hurt in the slightest. He could feel the warmth but it didn't burn.

Keeping his attention on the glowing blade in his hand, he listened as the blacksmith performed some strange hand waves, said some words in a weird alien language, and asked for his other hand. Keith obliged and the sudden sharp pain across his palm made him regret it. The blood bubbled to surface and his hand was pressed against the blade, sandwiching it between his two palms. The crazy words and movements continued and the blade in his hands started to get warmer, a soft purple light emanating from it. Keith was enraptured by the sensation and he felt he little pulse of life, like a heartbeat, flicker in the blade.

The blacksmith removed his hand, and lifted the blade from the other, placing the metal back into the forge one last time before dousing it in a bucket of some mystery purple liquid. The mystery liquid had a strange glow to it as well, almost seeming as if it were alive as it shimmered in its bucket. Keith's attention was ripped away from the shimmer and back to the blacksmith as he was presented his blade. It was in its unawakened form and as soon as he held it in his grip, the sigil on the handle lit up and the knife ignited into a sword, his sword. He could feel the pulse of life inside it syncing with his own heartbeat.

"It feels alive." His voice was breathy; he stared down at the glowing purple sword in awe.

"It does? You are the first to say that." Keith stared at the blacksmith. He didn't seem surprised by the statement; more caught off guard that Keith had said it. "You have a gift. I could feel it as I crafted the blade whilst in your hands."

"Sensitivity." He corrected.

"Gift." The blacksmith insisted.


	5. Consequenses

**CONSEQUENCES**

"Sir? Pod 14-A3 has left the hangar under Lieutenant Vrek's authorization, except – Lieutenant Vrek is currently on a mission in the Quadra B system. I thought it odd and felt you should be informed."

Krolia groaned but held her tongue as she waited for Kolivan to speak. "Thank you, Tebbit. Dismissed." The Blade gave a firm nod and solute as he left the office, leaving them in silence. She watched the deep lines on their Leader's face as he furrowed his brow, the stress of his responsibilities taking their toll.

"100 GAC says that kit of yours has something to do with this."

"I don't take bets I won't win." She quipped back and his stoic facade broke, the cracks showing the younger man she knew so well.

"He's you, you know that right?"

"Pfft. He reminds me more of my brother. Thace was always pulling stunts like this." Kolivan sputtered a laugh, his mouthful of nunvil spraying across the desk.

"So were you, he just got caught more often." There was a twinkle in his eye, most likely remembering some wacky shenanigan the siblings had pulled back in their youth. Having joined the Blades with her older brother at the ripe old ages of 21 and 18, Thace and Krolia were legendary on base for the trouble they caused. A legacy Keith was more than happy to continue. "100 GAC on Keith having dragged Regris into this."

Krolia rolled her eyes. "Those two are like 'pillys in a burrow' – where there's one, there's bound to be the other."

Kolivan smirked, nodding his head in agreement. They each took several more sips of their drinks, his thoughts displaying much more clearly amidst the drunken glow on his face. "Think Marra's involved?"

"Oh definitely." Krolia smirked, downing the rest of her glass in one gulp then immediately refilling it. "Poor girl's so hopelessly enamored by Keith I'm sure she'd jump face first into a vat of geryk if he asked." Kolivan sputtered, once again spraying nunvil on his desk.

"Stop saying shit like that right after I take a sip Krolia!" She grinned at him, her devilish smirk still lingering. "You're as troublesome as your kit."

The two laughed a while, enjoying the rest of their bottle of nunvil before leaving Kolivan's office. They walked the halls of the base, headed for the hangar where Keith would need to land, all the while discussing their wager. She could feel the effects of the liquor in her system, finding her footfalls less steady than a respectable agent of her standing should allow. Giggling far too easily at his terrible jokes, she kept pace with the equally intoxicated Kolivan, and as they entered the hangar she slapped 100 GAC into his hand for the lack of Marra's presence.

* * *

He couldn't believe they'd managed to actually take a pod out of the hangar. Sure, Regris had bypassed the security access and faked the permission codes and blah blah, but the fact that he had actually managed to successfully take one of the pods was still processing in his mind. His dad had been right; he was born wearing horseshoes.

Behind him Marra was nervously rattling off all the rules they had just broken and he rolled his eyes. It's not like she had to come along, he'd asked her to join strictly out of courtesy after she'd busted them breaking into the hangar. He hadn't really expected she'd say yes. Reg must have, he was grinning like an idiot; Keith didn't understand why. _Maybe he had a thing for her?_ Actually, now that he thought about it, that seemed pretty likely. Regris was always inviting Marra to hangout with them. It didn't bother him too much, she was fun and they all got along just fine, but sometimes it was annoying having her around. She stared too much and she stood too close, to the point where they were usually almost touching, it was like she had no concept of personal space. He just didn't understand her.

Right now she was leaning on the back of the pilot's seat, her fingers brushing the side of his neck each time she adjusted her grip on the back rest. "You might wanna sit down for this." He grinned through his promissory threat and gave her a total of 10 tics before he dropped the pod into a nosedive.

"Do you – know – what you – are doing?" Her words came through tightly clenched teeth as she gasped for air, the sudden drop having caused her to choke.

He grinned, tightening his grip on the controls and leveling out the pod just before they crashed on the asteroid. Darting along the surface he picked up speed, feeling the rush as the pod skirted the edge of the black hole's pull. Marra's breath hitched when the proximity alarms went off but Keith ignored it, he knew he was in full control and he wanted to use the gravity to slingshot himself even faster. The black hole was approaching, getting dangerously close. As soon as he felt the tug he spun the pod sharply to the left, letting the gravity pull the edge of pod around, and he hit the thrusters causing them to rocket away at a speed he couldn't have otherwise reached.

"OH MY STARS! You're going to kill us!" She was panicking and Keith felt a small twinge of glee.

"Shut up and trust me!" He called back, ignoring her terrified whine as it filled the cockpit around him. So far so good, he thought as they blasted past the top of the base. No one had hailed them to return, no one had come out after them, and the pod's controls hadn't been taken over with an autopilot forcing them back.

Zipping around the base a few more times, he brought the pod back to the hangar and docked safely back in line with the other pods. No one had to know about his unauthorized jaunt.

The pod door opened and Marra flew out hollering Regris' name and screaming about how she almost died. Keith rolled his eyes but found a sly grin settling into place. The sudden clearing of a throat caused him to instantly freeze.

"Oh, Marra. What an absolute surprise to see you here. _None_ of us could have predicted this." His mother gushed in the most obviously insincere and sarcastic tone imaginable. Kolivan groaned and slapped what looked like 200 GAC into her outstretched hand causing her grin to grow even wider.

Keith watched his fellow Blade attempt to justify her presence without coming off as guilty, but he knew his mom would see right through it; Krolia always did. Actually, the more he watched, the more she seemed _off_, like she was maybe – _no, NO!_

"Are you guys drunk?" Keith asked, jaw falling to the metal floor of the hangar is absolute shock, or horror, or both. Why the quiznak were his mother and Kolivan drunk? "YOU ARE! You're drunk! What the quiznak!"

"Ok – watch your language Kit." She chastised him and Kolivan chuckled beside her. _Seriously, there was so much wrong with this whole situation._ He thought to himself, or at least he would have if his brain would click back on thank you very much. "And – and don't you be turning this on me – er, us. We are grown adults. If we want to have some nunvil we are allowed to do so."

"And, furthermore," Kolivan began, adding to her sentiment. "We are not the ones breaking the rules you little thieves. All three of you – bad, bad kits!" The scolding sounded more like he was reprimanding a pack of Yupper pups instead of 3 fully realized Blades. Krolia giggled – she actually giggled, and Keith felt his jaw drop even further.

"To your rooms. Now. Off to go you bed. Wait – no, off to bed go … _quiznak!_ … Go to bed!" He rolled his eyes at his mother and, against his own better judgment, condescendingly muttered 'you should go to bed' as he marched past her.

"KEITH, you stay." _Quiznak._

He watched Regris and Marra leave the hangar and turned to find a giggling Kolivan and an absolutely livid Krolia staring at him. "Why? Why did you take the plod? Why did you take that poor girl along? Why Keith!"

"Plod?" he snickered and received a hard smack to the side of the head for his insubordination.

"You knew damn well what I meant. Answer me."

"Sure you don't want to just wait till tomorrow? You, know – so you remember this conversation." This time he ducked when her claws swiped at him and the snarl that immediately followed made his freeze. She was actually livid. Not '_oh Keith you little rascal'_ angry but actual, for real angry. His eyes went wide as she loomed over him, her claws gripping the collar of his suit, and her pupils narrowing to the point they almost disappeared entirely.

"You listen to me, I've had enough. No more of this, no more getting away with this kind of behaviour, no more talking back, no more taking pods -"

"This was the first time - "

"- on joy rides, NO MORE INTURUPTING ME, no more hanging out with Regris and Marra unsupervised, no more free time, and no more FREEDOM at all. This is the end of the line. I will not allow it any longer. I am tired of listening to the other Blades tell me about the trouble you three cause and I know – Keith, I KNOW you are the root of it. Shape up, behave yourself, or there will be _severe_ consequences. Do. You. Under. Stand?"

"Yes, mam." He could feel the blush on his cheeks, Kolivan had stopped snickering and both of their expressions had gone dark. He guessed it was safe to assume she had sobered up.

Releasing him with no small amount of force, she turned to Kolivan. "Yours to deal with. I'm going to find more nunvil before I throw my Kit out the airlock." Throwing her hands in the air, she stormed off muttering something about having a newfound respect for her mother and something about his Uncle Thace.

The hangar lapsed into silence and he turned his gaze back to Kolivan. The stoic leader of the Blade of Marmora was staring at him with heavy eyes and a rosy tint to his cheeks, clearly still intoxicated. "Keith, stop testing your mother's patience. The rules are there for a reason. If you're pod had been caught in the gravity of that black hole, you would have been dead. There is a reason we don't let recruits learn at the main base, it's far too dangerous. Do you know how many times your poor mother nearly had a heart attack watching you in that pod?" He felt himself wither under their Leader's intense gaze, his words sinking in fully as Keith stared out the hangar at the three dangerous celestial objects.

"I'm sorry." And he was, he didn't think about the danger. The only thing that crossed his mind as he took the pod was how awesome it was going to be to fly the real thing instead of a simulator. "I – I didn't think -"

"No clearly you didn't 'think' or we wouldn't be having this discussion." Keith felt the blush hit his cheeks again and he hung his head. "Come to my office immediately after breakfast. Lieutenant Krolia will not be involved in your punishment as a Blade, but don't worry – I'm sure your mother has a punishment planned of her own." He groaned. Two punishments? That didn't seem fair. He'd voice this thought if he wasn't absolutely terrified of making the whole situation worse.

Nodding his understanding, Keith saluted his superior officer and headed to his room.

* * *

The door opened and he flicked on the light to find his mother sitting on the edge of his bed, an unopened bottle of nunvil in her hand.

"Sit." Ok, so she was still mad. He didn't argue this time, merely making his way to the bed in silence as he sat down beside her. "Do you know why I'm so upset?"

"Because I back talked you in front of Kolivan and I stole one of the pods without authorization."

"No, Keith. Well, yes that was bad – but it's not why I'm so upset with you. You're a full Blade now; Kolivan will handle the insubordination and breech of security. Do you know why _I'm_ so upset with you?"

He thought about for a moment, and drew a blank. If it wasn't the rule breaking and it wasn't the sass then there was no other reason. He wracked his brain trying to come up with something, and continued to draw a blank so he opted to shake his head and admit he had no idea.

"You could have died Keith. This wasn't some little stunt where you end up in the medbay with bandages and get to ogle Sergin as he takes care of you." He felt himself blush all over again but she pressed on. "This would have been death. Permanent, no coming back. I watched you skirt the edge of disaster, with poor Marra on board. Keith, I stood in that hangar for 10 dobashes and I watched helplessly as the most important person in the universe to me, my precious little kit, almost killed himself several times. Do you know how scared I was?" He shook his head, he hadn't thought about that.

They lapsed into an awkward silence as he pondered the full extent of what had happened. "I'm sorry mom." He felt the warble in his voice, small and meek, as he apologized.

"I don't know what your punishment from Kolivan is going to be, though I can make a pretty strong speculation. What I want is for you to apologize; you crossed the line this time. Kolivan will deal with Marra and Regris for their involvement, but you _will_ apologize to everyone. Kolivan, Regris, Marra, Tebbit, and Vrek. Do you understand?"

"Yes mam."

"Do you know why you need to apologize?"

"Because I broke their trust?"

"Yes. We all trust each other not to unnecessarily endanger the base, our fellow Blades, or ourselves." He nodded along. "You are 15 deca-phoebs old Keith, 16 in only 4 more phoebs, I shouldn't have to explain common sense to you." He continued to nod, understanding how dumb and childish his actions had been. "Ok, get ready for bed."

She kissed his forehead and he stood, changing into his sleep clothes, and crawling into bed. It was a little difficult with his mother still sitting on the blankets, but he managed. She leaned over, squeezing his shoulders and giving his cheek a quick lick. "Good night, Keith. I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

His punishment from Kolivan had been severe. Regris was standing in the doorway watching him pack and Keith had to fight the tears that were trying to form. He was being reassigned, sent to an outpost to continue his Operative and flight training. He wasn't going to know anyone, he wasn't going to have his mom or Tok or Reg or anyone! But Kolivan was right, he had become far too comfortable at the main base and he'd been allowed far too many leniency's. It was time for him to grow up.

* * *

The new base was located in the Thaldycon system. It was incredibly remote and only had a handful of agents that were stationed there. Apparently it was a dangerous area to access and, because of this, his Uncle Thace had to pick him up and bring him to the base while passing by on an assignment for the Empire. He was on a deep cover mission, so Keith didn't get to see him very often, which made a long trip incredibly awkward.

Luckily they'd both survived and Thace managed to access the outpost with little difficulty. Keith had been incredibly impressed with his skills as a pilot; watching him maneuver around the xanthorium clusters with relative ease was spectacular.

The entrance to the base was hidden inside a pocket of space-time, which was hidden inside the center of one of the larger clusters, which was hidden in a belt with tens of thousands of clusters. Even the slightest nudge would cause them to explode violently and rip apart any nearby pods. Once through the pocket, the area was clear and open making for the perfect place to practice basic flight drills.

He sat clutching his bag tightly in his lap as they docked in the station's hangar. Only one Blade had come down to greet them and when they exited the pod, Keith stayed close to his Uncle's side. The last time he was on another base a Druid had tried to kill him so it was totally reasonable, and not at all silly, that he was a little shy. Right? Right!

The Blade introduced himself as Ulaz. He was the medic for this station and also the communications technician. Apparently everyone pulled double duty on the smaller bases. Keith's rolls would be medical assistant and student. When he wasn't helping Ulaz in the medbay, he would be learning how to be a Blade of Marmora agent, practicing his forms on the training deck, and running flight drills in the simulators. He was to continue his studies on Galran history, general common history, math, language (both Galran and Common), way-finding, and as if all of that wasn't enough – he had to continue to practice mastery of his quintessence sensitivity. Kolivan _definitely_ knew how to craft a punishment. There was no way he could get up to any mischief here; he wouldn't have any free time.

Ulaz led them through the base to his room. It was small, about half the size of his room back at headquarters, but it was really all he needed since he wouldn't be spending much time in here any ways. Next was a full tour of the station which only took a varga to complete. He met all of the other agents on base – all 7 of them; it really was a small crew. There was Rikki, Rubin, Plak, Fitzil, Tragok, Proxa, and Ulaz. Plak was going to be his trainer and flight instructor, while Proxa was going to be his tutor, and Ulaz would be his temporary guardian in the absence of his mother. He also learned that Tragok was the highest in command for this station even though Ulaz technically out ranked him. Because Ulaz was a medic first and foremost, he didn't have the time to take on the more administrative roll of command and thus, had given up the promotion.

Keith unpacked his bag, settling into his new room, and collapsed backwards on the bed. His communicator beeped and he picked it up to see his mother smiling at him. He smiled back.

"How was the trip?"

"Fine. Uncle Thace sure can fly!" She chuckled at his enthusiasm.

"Yes, he can. Don't underestimate yourself, one day you'll fly circles around him."

"Not likely." Keith whipped his head up to see his Uncle standing in the doorway. "Came to check on you, make sure you settled in alright. Hey sis."

His mother rolled her eyes but greeted her brother with a warm smile. "Hmmpf 'hey' to you too. How long are you staying?"

"Not very, heading back to Central Command in two quintants." Keith didn't know why but the news of his Uncle's impending departure made him sad. This would be the first time he was without any immediate family since he was 11 deca-phoebs, but he would be fine. Keith was tough, tougher than people gave him credit for. He could handle this.

* * *

The next two quintants went by in a relative blur. The new faces and names he had to commit to memory, as well as the new base layout he needed to learn, had taken their toll on his energy levels, leaving him exhausted by the time their night cycle started. Ulaz was nice; in fact Keith felt it safe to say the medic was by far his favourite person on base. Plak was a close second. He was funny, smart, incredibly skilled in combat, funny, talented, easy to talk to, the closest in age to Keith, funny, fun, laid back, funny, and oh boy how the list could go on … and on and on and on. Keith found himself drawn to Plak; the older was incredibly social which made spending time with him easy and natural. Plus he was hilarious. But Keith definitely didn't have a crush on him. Nope, it was just a general appreciation for everything about him because he was awesome. Regris would have liked him for sure, oh the trouble they could cause.

The thought had Keith was missing his best friend. He'd said goodbye to Thace approximately 3 vargas ago, and now sat alone in his room. Plak and Proxa had given him the rest of the day cycle to say goodbye to his Uncle and spend some time in the medbay with Ulaz. But the latter didn't need his help, so now he found himself lying on his bed with nothing to do but stare at the ceiling and wish for the sweet relief of death to save him from this crushing boredom.

~_ Knock knock _~

The sudden noise startled him and realized he had drifted off into a sort of trance. He grunted to let his guest know they could enter, and resumed his staring contest with the ceiling.

"You ready for a round in the simulators? I want to see what you've got." Plak leaned in the door frame, arms crossed, and a cocky smirk on his face. Keith grinned; this is where he got to shine. Plak may have kicked his ass on the training deck, but Keith _owned_ the simulator!

Jumping up he stretched out his tight limbs before smirking back. "I thought you'd never ask." He arrogantly quipped, walking past his instructor and darting down the hall.

The simulator was identical to the one at headquarters. The settings could be changed to model different pod types ranging from an Empire fighter pod to one of the rebel pods, and everything in between. Currently it was set to one of the Blade's fighter pods and Plak said that once he cleared all of the simulators levels, he would be allowed to practice in the real thing. Except, Plak hadn't expected him to clear all 38 levels in one quintant, without any errors, and breaking the base's highest recorded score in the process; all on his first attempt. He had to admit that it felt pretty damn good to see how impressed Plak was. But if he was being fair, Tok had been one hell of a teacher.

"That was your Uncle's score. He won't be too pleased when he comes back." The older Blade teased.

"Then he'd better step up his game." Keith added to the banter, and his instructor burst out laughing.

* * *

9 phoebes had gone by. Keith was a licensed pilot in the Blades now, having passed all of his tests both in the simulator and in the practice pod. Plak said he was a natural pilot and Keith was inclined to agree. He didn't feel complete until he was behind the controls, throwing away his inhibitions and letting the adrenaline take over. He was _born_ to fly – he just didn't have any wings.

Tragok had sent him on several supply runs before but now he was heading out on a real mission, his first mission as a Blade, and he was super pumped. Keith and Rubin were to fly out to a way station, pick up the other two members of their team, then intercept a prisoner transport unit that was carrying one of the rebel leaders. Security would be tight and with Keith being technically still a kit he was to remain on the pod. He had been assigned as the mission's pilot and was ordered to follow the timeline exactly; anyone who didn't make the departure time was left behind. No exceptions. Those were the rules; all Blades knew them.

He hated being the one to leave a team member behind, but he understood the reasoning; better to abandon one agent rather than surrender the entire crew. But just because he understood, didn't mean he had to like it.

So far their mission was going according to plan. The entire crew had been assembled without any complications and they had managed to dock their pod to the base of the transport without detection. Keith waited in the cockpit, monitoring incoming and outgoing signals from the ship in case of trouble. His Blade line buzzed and he answered the com link on his dashboard.

"_Ready the engines, we found the prisoner and are ahead of schedule."_ It was Rubin's voice on the other end, even though their suits were equipped with a modifier, it was still similar enough that he could recognize it.

"Understood. Preparing for departure in 5 dobashes." He began the countdown which would display in the upper right corner of his crew's masks, letting them know how much time was left.

3 dobashes was all they had needed for the entire crew to return with the prisoner. Keith sealed the airlock and released the pod from the underside of the Empire ship. He set their course for the rendezvous point where a group of rebels would be meeting them. One of the two unknown other members of their team began a scan of the rebel leader, checking for any medical complications or tracking devices. Once satisfied, they instructed Keith to hail the rebels and complete their exchange.

The rebel leader was named Te-Osh. She had woken up after roughly a varga and only mildly freaked out at the Galra surrounding her before registering the Blade of Marmora suits and her lack of restraints. She relayed the story of how she was captured and it sounded awesome – terrible that she was a prisoner of the Empire, but the raid they had undertaken was really cool! She was a certified badass in Keith's mind and he hoped the other rebel leaders were as dedicated as she was. That was the only way they could win this war.

She'd been surprised to find out he was only 16 deca-phoebs when she made an offhand comment about how young he looked. At the rendezvous point she had seen him without his mask and her eyes blew wide with shock, asking if he was half Altean. Literally everyone had rolled their eyes; the Alteans were an ancient and **extinct** species. But it had been good for a chuckle. He corrected her, saying he was half Human and explaining that they looked similar to the Ancient people of Altea, but that they were non-spacefaring.

The exchange went well, some of the rebels shot them dirty looks but overall it had gone smoothly. Te-Osh told them that her fleet would be forever in the Blade of Marmora's debt. All they had to do was ask and she would help in any way she could. Something deep inside him whispered that he should remember her name, he was unsure why but he trusted his gut, so he committed her name and face to memory.

Keith dodged the xanthorium clusters and docked their pod safely in the hangar. Plak, Tragok, and Ulaz had come to great them and he stepped out of the pod only to be sent tumbling by a strong clap on the back from Rubin. He was Plak's older brother but he was far more reserved and harder to impress.

"Well done out there."

"Thank you." He replied and Rubin grunted in acknowledgment before leaving to deliver his mission report to Tragok while Keith was greeted by Plak and Ulaz. He couldn't wait to get back to his room so he could contact his mom and Regris. He was going to relay every little detail of his first mission. It had been his first_ real mission_ and it had been a success. Keith had never been more proud of himself in all his life.


	6. Assignment

**ASSIGNMENTS**

There had been a lot of chatter from the Empire regarding Voltron as of late. Naturally, Keith was familiar with the stories of the mighty weapon; 5 semi-sentient mechanical lions that came together using magic from a long dead ancient civilization to form a giant undefeatable robot. Voltron was awesome! Most people believed it to be nothing more than myth and legend; a story to inspire hope in the kits of the resistance, and the boogeyman for kits of the Empire.

Keith believed; his mother had always been insistent that Voltron was very real. Just like any other kit raised in the Blades, he had grownup hearing the stories of the legendary defender of the universe. Regris would gush about how amazing the Green Lion sounded and how it was clearly the best of the lions; Keith and Marra disagreed. Marra preferred the Yellow Lion saying it was the nicest and there was no 'best' lion but that it was her favourite. Once again, Keith disagreed.

In his opinion there was a clear and definite 'best' and it was the Red Lion. According to legend it was the fastest, most fearsome, and most agile of the lions plus it had to be _earned_. He loved a good challenge and the Red Lion was the ultimate test of one's ability and character. And who didn't love the colour red! Though he would concede that the Black Lion was also pretty cool, but it was a distant second.

Right now Keith was listening to Proxa as she rambled on about the Great Famine of the Dreskil Era and how Emperor Dresk had made the situation on Daibazaal disastrously worse by refusing to accept aid from the Alteans. Ultimately he had been assassinated, leading to the rise of his son Zarkon as Emperor. The newly minted Emperor Zarkon immediately strengthened their ties with Altea, accepting aid and offering military protection in exchange. The people of Altea had been strong, thriving, and powerful but no one had a greater military than the Galra of Daibazaal and Emperor Zarkon's offer was accepted with great enthusiasm. They had been allies for almost one hundred deca-phoebs before King Alfor the Wise (or King Alfor the Coward if you were in the Empire) forged the mighty warrior known as Voltron.

Keith had almost tuned her out completely until the words 'Black Lion of Voltron' registered. "Wait, you're saying that Emperor Zarkon was a Paladin?" The higher than necessary pitch of his voice betrayed his shock.

"Yes, according to the legends he was the original Paladin of the Black Lion of Voltron while Altea's King Alfor was the Paladin of the Red Lion, and Zarkon's second in command. They were old friends before the Emperor's betrayal and the subsequent destruction of Planet Altea."

It was common knowledge that Zarkon had lived an unnaturally long life, but for him to be over 10,000 deca-phoebs old was insanity! Keith stared at his tutor with an open jaw, unabashedly in shock.

"Ms. Proxa? How is Emperor Zarkon still alive and why does no one think that's weird?"

She chuckled at his naivety. "In the Empire we learn that our Emperor is a god-like being, immortal until he no longer serves with the best interest of the Galra in mind. Emperor Dresk was successfully assassinated because his denial of much needed aid in a time of desperation caused him to lose his immortality. His father, Emperor Renkon, had given up his immortality by choice, choosing to pass on into the land of our Ancestors as he no longer felt he was the best choice to lead in his old age. Emperor Zarkon perished in the destruction of Daibazaal, his hubris causing him to lose sight of what was best. Unfortunately, he was returned to life by unnatural means with the help of his witch. The people of the Empire believe that he still holds the favour of our Ancestors and that the Empire is in righteous hands. Unfortunately our people are blinded by propaganda, constantly being lied to and manipulated by a corrupt abomination who barely qualifies as Galra anymore."

Her tone grew darker, a venomous hate dripping from her words as she explained to him the power of the Emperors. He hoped the ancestors took no pity on Zarkon when the war ends. The monster deserved to suffer like he had made the universe suffer. A faint purr of agreement echoed in his mind and it jolted him back to reality. Shaking off the lingering presence, he tried to focus on what Proxa was saying. "The Emperors are just men, nothing more, but that doesn't stop the people from believing. The old stories become much more convincing when your Emperor sits on the throne for over 10,000 deca-phoebs." She took a deep breath and perked up her expression, moving on from the heavy topic.

"You're report on the Great Famine is due to me in 2 quintants. I want you to include a piece about how the situation could have been handled differently and if it would have changed the fate of Altea." He gathered up his papers and headed for his room. Training with Plak was in one varga and he needed to be ready.

"Keith, remember – 2 quintants or I deduct marks for the assignment being late." He groaned but nodded in understanding.

Training had been eventful. He was finally able to beat Plak on occasion due to his superior reaction time and agility. This session turned out to be a surprise exam. He was not allowed to leave the training deck until he beat Plak, Rubin, and Fitzil in hand-to-hand combat.

Rubin was easy; he was pretty rigid and stuck closely to the forms they had all been trained with. Keith's ability to think on his feet and improvise had led him to an easy victory against the substantially larger and stronger pure Galra.

Fitzil had been more difficult; she was smaller than Rubin but still bigger than Keith. She was also much faster than Rubin and, like Keith she was a Halfling. Her other parentage gave her the ability to create a mild electrical charge when she rubbed her hands together. The first time she touched him on the shoulder after 'charging up' he had jolted from surprise. Grinning, she'd advanced her attack while he came back to reality. It was his sensitivity that had allowed him to win. After 'charging up' for a third time he had focused directly on the building electricity and used it against her.

The hardest opponent was Plak. Keith's instructor was an incredibly talented fighter who was intimately familiar with all of his moves. Everything Keith threw at him he had a counter for, and pressed harder and harder until Keith was running on pure adrenaline. In the end he had merely out lasted his opponent, not beaten him. Plak collapsed from exhaustion while Keith continued to bounce around him, waiting for his instructor to rise and continue the fight. To prove Keith could genuinely continue and wasn't just pretending, Plak had made him run 10 laps of the perimeter then fight the training droid with one of the mock blades. Only then did Plak announce his victory and that Keith had passed the exam he didn't even know he was taking.

The entire exam took roughly 5 vargas and by the end, Keith was well and truly exhausted. He lay on the mats catching his breath as Rubin passed him a hydration pouch. Keith half grunted, half groaned a 'thanks' and proceeded to inhale the contents in one single gulp. Gasping for air he fell back down with a hard smack and groaned at the discomfort.

After 2 dobashes the door opened, revealing three figures as they entered. The three made their way to Plak and commended him on his abilities as a training instructor and Keith could hear the man gush with gratitude. He rolled his eyes but was happy for his friend, because that's what they were now, after a whole deca-phoeb of training together they had become friends.

One of the three walked over, extending their hand for Keith to grab, and hoisting him to his feet. Their mask dissolved and he realized with a start that it was Zavin. Blinking, he looked over at the other two Blades, now noticing that one was clearly Kolivan and the other was an unknown. They were female, but he couldn't peg who it was until he heard her speak; Kyra, that was Kyra. He would recognize her soothing voice anywhere.

"Keith, come to the command center of the base. I wish to speak with you."

"Yes, Leader." He gave a curt nod and followed Kolivan, Kyra, and Zavin out of the room.

* * *

Ulaz and Tragok met them there. Keith took a seat at the debriefing table and waited patiently for Kolivan to begin.

"I have some personnel changes to announce. Kyra will be staying here on base as the new medic, Ulaz you are being reassigned." The latter gave a curt nod of acceptance and Kolivan continued. "Tragok, Kyra is one of the finest medics in the Blade of Marmora. Due to her advancing age she wishes to lessen her duties and thus was selected as Ulaz's replacement. Treat her well. Your new contact for medical supplies will be Sergin who is taking over as primary medic for the main base." Tragok nodded and smiled at Kyra who smiled back.

"Keith, you have made tremendous progress and successfully completed your final examination. You are now a fully trained Blade of Marmora operative." Kolivan gave him a solute and all of the Blades in the room copied the gesture. Keith returned their Leader's solute and felt a wave of pride at his accomplishment. "You are being sent on an assignment. One that is absolutely _vital_ to the future of the Blades and the Universe in general." Through the words he maintained his stoic demeanour, and Keith knew this was serious, he wasn't being dramatic – that wasn't his style. Kolivan truly believed this mission was important.

"Sir, why assign me to this if it is so important? Why not Antok, Ilun, Vrek, or my mom? Someone with more experience!"

"Krolia was my first choice; however she is currently on a mission. Her position with Commander Ranveig has been salvaged and she's returned to his fleet. You are the best candidate for the assignment given your unique qualifications. Do not take this to mean you are not capable, I would not assign you to the mission if I did not feel you were able to complete it."

Keith pondered that for a moment, wondering what his 'unique qualifications' were. He suspected it had something to do with his quintessence sensitivity. Giving a curt nod of acceptance he steeled his gaze, meeting Kolivan's penetrating stare, and accepted the assignment. "Understood. What is this assignment you have for me?"

"We have reason to believe the Empire is closing in on the location of the Blue Lion of Voltron. We know where the lion is located and need you to return to your home planet of Terra to retrieve it. You are to find the lion and bring it to the main base so that the Empire is unable to locate it ever again. Do you understand your mission Blade?"

Go back to Earth? Go back … to _Earth?_ Keith held his Leader's gaze, searching for anything that he might have missed. "I understand." He was going back, back to his father, and back to where he was born. A part of him was terrified to meet the alien half of his heritage, but another part of was incredibly excited. "When do we leave?"

"You will be leaving at the end of this night cycle. First thing next quintant." Kolivan turned to face Ulaz. "There is an opening on Central Command for an advanced med tech. Thace put in a good word for you and the recommendation has been accepted. You will be working directly under the witch Haggar. This is a mission of great importance; it is imperative that we are up to date on her experiments. We cannot hope to contend with an enemy we know nothing about. Do you understand your mission Blade?"

"I understand."

"You will take one of the captured Empire transport pods, drop Keith off on Terra, and continue on towards your new post. Dismissed."

* * *

Keith sat on the edge of his bed staring at the bags on the floor. He wouldn't be coming back to this base; once his mission was complete he would be returning to headquarters once again. He had two bags out, one to take with him to Earth, and the other to send back with Zavin. Sighing heavily he rose from the bed and began packing up the last deca-phoeb of his life.

He knew his clothing wouldn't be much use once he landed on Earth, from what his mother had told him their styles were very different. He packed his favourite pieces into the larger headquarters bag, and shoved a few outfits into the smaller mission bag. He packed a few of his favourite video game chips and his data pad, as well as some books. Finally he packed the important Blade of Marmora operative items including his blade, his communicator, and the most important thing of all – snacks. He filled an entire pocket of his bag with cups of berry puree and on impulse he added 3 tubes of diffry berry juice. Keith still got shivers up his spine when he remembered the horrible reaction he'd had to the stuff. If he was going to an entire planet full of Humans, the least he could do was bring something along that could be used as a poison if necessary. It didn't hurt to be prepared.

After a varga he had finished packing and slung the larger bag over his shoulder to load it into Kolivan and Zavin's return pod. He then trudged back to his room and retrieved the other bag, bringing it back to the hangar to load into the Empire transport pod he and Ulaz would be taking. While exiting the pod he sensed a presence and not a tick later Zavin jumped him, enveloping his whole body in a crushing hug.

"Hey kit! Long time no prank." He smirked down as Keith tried to regain his breath.

"Not … a kit … anymore." He panted.

"Ha, you'll always be a kit to me. Besides, 16 deca-phoebs is still a kit." Keith rolled his eyes. "You know, I had to fight Regris on the training deck for the honour of coming with Kolivan for this trip. He fought dirty too; I think he missed you or something." That devilish smirk was back.

"Who won?" …. _OH STARS! _"Never mind, ignore that." He shook his head in embarrassment as Zavin laughed at the blunder.

"Mind elsewhere? Don't be nervous you'll do great. You've always been a sneaky little shit so an infiltration mission should be right up your alley." Zavin nudged his shoulder and he snorted a laugh. The two of them walked back to the cafeteria, laughing the whole way as they reminisced on the shenanigans Keith and Regris used to pull. Zavin told him about the punishment Reg and Marra had received after he'd been reassigned and how the crazy antics had stopped after he left. Most of the Blades had made comments about Keith being the instigator and a troublemaker, while others had commented that he was clearly a born leader. He suspected maybe it was a bit of both.

* * *

He had only been 3 deca-phoebs, a mere kitling, when his mother had fled Earth with him in tow. Because of this, Keith had completely forgotten how remote the planet was. There's a reason the Empire hadn't concurred it yet and it had nothing to do with Earth's defences. There was nothing out here, no Empire presence, no way-stations, no long range scanners, not even any Balmera were out here. This part of the universe was young and untouched – virgin cosmos. He adolescent brain snickered at the thought.

Staring out the window he watched as a probe flew by their pod. It was a strange looking probe, unlike anything he had ever seen before and definitely nothing that came out of the Empire. For starters – it wasn't purple. The probe appeared to have a large dish affixed to the main body, with 3 long spikes extending in a tripod like fashion from the base. Ulaz scanned the device for any signals and received nothing. The probe was dead, likely having used all of its energy reserves, and now drifted lifelessly through space.

"Should we intercept it?" He asked, unsure if that was the best choice.

"Yes. It would be best to ensure any stray Empire ships do not stumble upon it. The discovery could lead to an increased presence in the area."

The probe was too large to be brought inside, so Keith was tasked with securing it to the underside of their transport pod for further study. Something shiny caught his eye and he had to do a double take, it was a golden disc. The disc appeared to be scratched from debris but at a closer look he could see they were carvings, things that had been purposefully etched into the gold. Carefully removing it from the probe he brought it back on-board the pod for Ulaz to analyze.

The etchings were strange but the older Blade recognized the odd starburst pattern as holding the signatures of nearby pulsars. Keith took over the controls of the pod as Ulaz worked to decode the patterns, deciphering what turned out to be a map leading directly to Earth.

"Foolish Terrans. Sending a map to their home world. What if the Empire had found this! Keith, reattach this disc and dislodge the probe. Once it is far enough away we will shoot it with the pod's blasters removing all evidence of intelligent life in this region. Go now, we are nearing Terra's system." He did as he was told and, as they continued on their journey, watched the pieces of the former probe drift off in a million directions.

Several vargas passed and Keith was using his data pad to scan for Empire signals when a shrill, and incredibly annoying laugh filled the cargo hold. On his screen were a bright yellow cube and a pink star, both with eyes and teeth; they were clearly the source of the obnoxious sound. "ULAZ! I think we're getting close! I'm picking up radio signals." He groaned and shut off his data pad, preferring silence to whatever the quiznak that was.

Another varga went by and the most beautiful planet he had ever seen came into view. It was magnificent, a gas giant with a large and intricate system of rings. The planet itself was a muted yellow colour with a blue hue at the poles. Keith stared in awe at the beautiful giant, only to be blown away by the immediately following planet. It was even larger and boasted stunning banding of coloured gases with a large red splotch in the lower hemisphere.

Keith had been to many planets before, some barren and others inhabited, but very rarely did a system contain two absolute gems like these! It was breath-taking. As if the system was trying to humble brag, he almost missed the sudden appearance of a blue, brown, and white planet. He had been far too busy watching the small red one go by to notice and it had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. The other planets had many natural satellites that gave away their position, but this object only had one. It was fairly large in comparison to its host, and its surface was incredibly reflective. Keith imagined how brightly it must shine in the planet's sky during their night cycle and he hoped he'd get the chance to view it someday.

As if reading his mind Ulaz's voice came over the coms, blasting into the cargo hold where he was staring out of the pod's windows. "Keith, into the lander, we have reached your destination. Your landing coordinates have already been loaded in; make sure you do not miss your mark. Good luck fellow Blade."

Keith scrambled into the small lander pod. There was no engine, but it did contain two small independent thrusters that could be used to guide the pod into a stabilized landing. Activating the controls, he located the region where he was supposed to land, and readied himself for the sudden drop. Even though he knew it was coming the rush always took him by surprise as the cargo bay doors opened and his little pod fell towards the planet below. Earth's gravity pulled him down and he glanced back to watch as Ulaz blasted the transport's engines and escaped the gravitational pull of the planet, heading off for the Empire's Central Command. Beside him his data pad and communicator lay just inside his bag and he took a deep breath, feeling his heart beat out of his chest.

The atmosphere of Earth was thick. The lander pod was jostled about violently as he tried to gain control. He locked onto the pre-arranged landing spot and activated the thrusters as needed to maintain a straight trajectory.

His pod collided with the planet's surface sending a tidal wave of sand in all directions. Opening the hatch, Keith slung his bag over his shoulder, and jumped out of the pod. His Marmora suit scanned the environment and determined the air was safe to breathe – but he already knew it would be. This was his home planet after all, and the moment his mask receded the familiar scent of the Texas desert hit him full force. A wave of memories came flooding back, distorted by time and how young he'd been.

A figure moved in the corner of his vision and he was instantly on edge. Ducking behind the bulk of his lander, Keith re activated his mask and pulled out his blade. He focused his energy on his sensitivity, using it to _feel_ the approach of the other. At the last moment he jumped, catapulting himself over the pod and landing with his blade at the throat of the potential threat.

"Woah there, kiddo! Whatcha think yer doin' attackin' yer ol' man like that!" he froze at the sound of his father's voice; a voice he hadn't heard since his 8th birthday.

"Dad?" his voice sounded weaker than he'd hoped but he removed his blade anyways. Walking around to stare into what were definitely his father's eyes.

"Yea, yer gunna have to speak English if yer wantin' me to understand what it is yer sayin'." His father crossed his arms, shifting his weight to his right foot and arching a brow.

Chuckling, Keith switched to English for the first time in deca-phoebs. "I – I missed you so much." Before he could register his own actions, he was throwing himself at his father; arms wrapping tightly around the older man's back. A moment's hesitation was all it took for Kolt Kogane to process the situation and wrap the boy in a tight squeeze.

"Come on kiddo, we gotta hide this hunk a'junk before them Garrison folks come snoopin'." Keith nodded and helped his father push the pod into the cave system, activating the cloaking device, and pulling down some large boulders for good measure. They swept up the sand piles, filling in the small crater, and clearing away all evidence of his arrival.

Together the father and son pair walked over the outcropping and into a small alcove where a vaguely familiar red and white craft was waiting. "Hope on. We're goin' home."

**Author's Note:**

This is part 3 of a 5 part series that follows Keith being raised by the BOM and eventually becoming the Red Paladin of Voltron. The next piece in the series is called "Of The Stars" and is now published. If you have any suggestions, tips, or feedback I'd love to hear it!

\- KarsKars


End file.
